DIRE uses neural networks to estimate summary statistics for likelihood-free inference.
problem Difficulty in learning parameters from observed data due to intractable likelihood functions.
method DIRE uses convolutional neural networks to estimate summary statistics for likelihood-free inference.
result A single neural network architecture can produce equally or more accurate posteriors than alternative methods.
Novel framework for implicit models improves experimental design efficiency.
problem Optimal resource allocation for implicit models with intractable likelihood.
method Utilizes mutual information as utility function, LFIRE for posterior approximation, Bayesian optimisation for optimal design.
result Improves experimental design efficiency and allows consideration of higher design dimensions.
A new method combines classification with population Monte Carlo for efficient ABC.
problem Inefficient particle proposals and subjectivity in ABC methods.
method Classification-PMC, blending adaptive proposals and classification.
result Classification-PMC outperforms state-of-the-art ABC methods in simulations.
Direct neural ratio estimator for likelihood-free inference.
problem Efficient likelihood estimation for complex models.
method Amortized likelihood ratio estimation using neural networks.
result DNRE often outperforms previous ratio estimators.
Unified contrastive learning for likelihood-free inference.
problem Parameter inference in models with intractable likelihood.
method Unified contrastive learning scheme for both density ratio and direct posterior estimation.
result Unified approach clarifies method selection and comparison.
Novel MCMC method tackles intractable likelihoods using learned ratio estimators.
problem Posterior inference with intractable likelihoods in complex simulations.
method Amortized approximate ratio estimator embedded in MCMC samplers.
result Effective approximation of likelihood-ratios for sampling from intractable posterior.
New method improves likelihood-free parameter estimation in complex models.
problem Estimating parameters in simulation-based models with unknown likelihood.
method Nested multi-time-scale stochastic approximation (NMTS) method.
result Eliminates bias and accelerates convergence in likelihood-free inference.
New method uses path signatures for efficient likelihood estimation in time-series data.
problem Intractable likelihood functions in complex dynamic models.
method Kernel classifier based on path signatures for sequential data.
result Path signatures yield highly performant classifiers, even with low sample numbers.
We extend recent work (Brehmer, et. al., 2018) that use neural networks as surrogate models for likelihood-free inference. As in the previous work, we exploit the fact that the joint likelihood ratio and joint score, conditioned on both observed and latent variables, can often be extracted from an implicit generative m…
ACORE improves hypothesis testing and confidence sets in likelihood-free inference.
problem Constructing hypothesis tests and confidence sets in likelihood-free inference settings.
method Formulates classical LRT as a classification problem, uses machine learning to improve estimates.
result Demonstrates improved accuracy in hypothesis testing and confidence sets.
New neural methods tackle density estimation and likelihood-free inference.
problem Density estimation and likelihood-free inference.
method Neural network-based methods.
result New methods for density estimation and likelihood-free inference.
ALFI improves likelihood-free inference for black-box generators.
problem Limitations of likelihood-free inference on black-box generators.
method Adversarial Likelihood-Free Inference (ALFI) to estimate posterior distributions.
result ALFI achieves best parameter estimation accuracy with limited simulation.
We consider the problem of parametric statistical inference when likelihood computations are prohibitively expensive but sampling from the model is possible. Several so-called likelihood-free methods have been developed to perform inference in the absence of a likelihood function. The popular synthetic likelihood appro…
APT improves likelihood-free inference by dynamically transforming posterior estimates.
problem Performing Bayesian inference on simulators with intractable likelihoods.
method Automatic posterior transformation (APT) using neural network-based density estimators.
result APT is more flexible, scalable, and efficient than previous methods.
Neural methods improve likelihood-free inference with fewer simulations.
problem Inference when likelihood functions are unavailable.
method Comparing neural approaches for likelihood-free inference.
result Neural methods can achieve state-of-the-art results with fewer simulations.
Improved MMD estimator for likelihood-free inference.
problem Computational challenges in estimating MMD for likelihood-free inference.
method Optimally-weighted MMD estimator with improved sample complexity.
result Significantly improved sample complexity for accurate MMD estimation.
In many fields of science, generalized likelihood ratio tests are established tools for statistical inference. At the same time, it has become increasingly common that a simulator (or generative model) is used to describe complex processes that tie parameters θ of an underlying theory and measurement apparatus to hig…
A recurrent machine learns to optimize parameters of a simulator without likelihood.
problem Estimating parameters of non-differentiable simulators from observations.
method Meta-learning to automatically optimize parameters through a sequence of updates.
result Demonstrated promising results on toy simulators.
Bayesian neural networks improve likelihood-free inference efficiency.
problem Efficient parameter inference from simulation models with uncertainty.
method Bayesian neural networks for summary statistics, adaptive sampling.
result More robust and efficient posterior estimation.
This study benchmarks likelihood-free inference methods for models with heavy-tailed or discrete data.
problem Comparing likelihood-free inference methods for models with structural features like heavy-tails or discreteness.
method Four approaches: MLE, NBE, EOT, and AW-NBE are evaluated using simulations.
result The choice of evaluation tools is crucial for models with extremes and discrete data.
New method uses Gaussian ODE filtering to approximate likelihoods for fast ODE inverse problems.
problem Intractable forward models in likelihood-free inference, especially for ODEs.
method Gaussian ODE filtering to construct local Gaussian likelihood approximations.
result New solvers outperform standard likelihood-free approaches on benchmark systems.
Corrects bias in learned generative models using likelihood-free importance weighting.
problem Bias in learned generative models relative to true data distribution.
method Estimate likelihood ratio using a classifier, apply importance weighting.
result Consistently improves goodness-of-fit metrics for deep generative models.
Improved likelihood-free inference by localizing and refining low-dimensional approximations.
problem Poor performance of common likelihood-free methods in high-dimensional models.
method Localisation followed by refinement of low-dimensional summaries.
result Improved accuracy in marginal posteriors through localized and refined approximations.
New method estimates HMM hidden states efficiently.
problem Inaccurate posterior predictive distribution in HMMs.
method Autoregressive-flow for estimating hidden states.
result Estimates comparable to SMC algorithm.
A new method reduces dimensionality for better likelihood-free parameter estimation.
problem Estimating parameters from data with no closed-form likelihood.
method Combines reconstruction map estimation with dimension-reduction techniques.
result The proposed method outperforms existing techniques in accuracy and efficiency.
Improves likelihood-free inference by using a new sampling approach to avoid biased data collection.
problem Efficient Bayesian inference without likelihood evaluation for real-world datasets.
method Introduces Neural Proposal (NP) to sample simulation inputs i.i.d. for unbiased posterior inference.
result Demonstrates improved performance, especially for multi-modal posteriors, through experiments.
Deep Gaussian Processes improve likelihood-free inference for complex distributions.
problem Limited flexibility of Bayesian Optimization with GPs for multimodal distributions.
method Proposes Deep Gaussian Processes (DGPs) as a surrogate model for likelihood-free inference.
result DGPs outperform GPs on multimodal distributions while maintaining comparable performance on unimodal cases.
The paper tackles hypothesis testing for likelihood-free inference with a new kernel-based approach.
problem Testing hypotheses with limited labeled data in likelihood-free inference.
method Kernel-based tests using maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) for non-parametric density comparison.
result Existence of an asymmetric trade-off between labeled and unlabeled data samples.
Neural point estimators improve parameter estimation from replicated data.
problem Making inference from replicated data in weakly-identified and highly-parameterised models.
method Permutation-invariant neural networks for likelihood-free parameter estimation.
result Neural point estimators can quickly and optimally estimate parameters.
KELFI improves inference accuracy in likelihood-free settings with limited simulations.
problem Intractable likelihood evaluations in likelihood-free inference.
method Kernel embedding likelihood-free inference (KELFI) learns model hyperparameters to balance accuracy and efficiency.
result Improved accuracy and efficiency on challenging inference problems in ecology.
Improved likelihood-free inference using preconditioned neural posterior estimation.
problem Inaccurate posterior estimation in likelihood-free inference methods.
method Preconditioned Neural Posterior Estimation (PNPE) and Sequential PNPE (PSNPE) methods.
result PNPE and PSNPE improve posterior estimation accuracy over NPE and SNPE.
Bayesian neural networks improved with scalable approximate inference.
problem Performing approximate Bayesian inference in complex models like neural networks.
method Two models: primary for prediction, secondary for posterior approximation; optimised via gradient descent on posterior predictive distribution.
result Approach scales better than MCMC and more expressive than VIs, without adversarial training.
Engine for Likelihood-Free Inference (ELFI) is a Python software library for performing likelihood-free inference (LFI). ELFI provides a convenient syntax for arranging components in LFI, such as priors, simulators, summaries or distances, to a network called ELFI graph. The components can be implemented in a wide vari…
Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) is a framework for performing likelihood-free posterior inference for simulation models. Stochastic Variational inference (SVI) is an appealing alternative to the inefficient sampling approaches commonly used in ABC. However, SVI is highly sensitive to the variance of the gradient…
Novel framework optimizes experiments for implicit models using mutual information.
problem Optimizing experiments for intractable implicit models.
method Sequential Bayesian Experimental Design using Mutual Information.
result Framework efficiently estimates parameters with few iterations.
Proposes a method for valid inference in GPLSIMs with longitudinal data.
problem Challenges in longitudinal data inference due to within-subject correlation and unstable variance estimation.
method Profile estimating-equation approach using spline approximation and block empirical likelihood.
result Block empirical likelihood ratio statistic with Wilks-type chi-square limit for joint inference.
Deep learning improves Bayes factor computation for likelihood-free models.
problem Computing Bayes factors for likelihood-free models is challenging.
method Proposes a deep learning estimator of Bayes factors using simulated data.
result Establishes consistency of the Deep Bayes Factor estimator.
The paper introduces tools for nonparametric conditional density estimation in astronomy.
problem Estimating photometric redshifts and likelihood-free cosmological inference with uncertainty quantification.
method Nonparametric conditional density estimation (CDE) tools in Python and R.
result Comprehensive statistical tools and software for CDE in astronomy.
Unified approach for sequence design combining likelihood-free inference and black-box optimization.
problem Designing biological sequences efficiently and accurately.
method Unified probabilistic framework integrating likelihood-free inference and black-box optimization.
result Previous optimization methods can be adapted and new algorithms proposed within this framework.
We improve likelihood-free inference using distillation of importance sampling.
problem Challenging likelihood-free inference with high-dimensional, dependent posterior.
method Approximate posterior with normalizing flows trained on likelihood-free importance sampling.
result Improved accuracy in inference without needing summary statistics.
A new framework bridges classical and machine learning methods for reliable inference from complex models.
problem Intractable likelihood functions in complex systems make classical statistics ineffective for likelihood-free inference.
method Likelihood-Free Frequentist Inference (LF2I) framework that combines classical statistics and machine learning.
result Valid confidence sets with near finite-sample validity can be constructed for any parameter value.
New method for state inference in state-space models with unknown dynamics.
problem State inference in state-space models with computationally expensive and undefined dynamics.
method Estimate state transition dynamics using a multi-output Gaussian process and Bayesian Neural Network as a surrogate model.
result Significant improvement in accuracy for state inference and prediction in non-stationary user models.
Improved likelihood-free inference for high-dimensional models.
problem Challenges in likelihood-free inference for high-dimensional parameter spaces.
method Bayesian optimization-based approach with misspecification-robust characterisation.
result Efficient inference in 100-dimensional space with real data application.
Deep learning speeds up gravitational wave analysis.
problem Computational challenge in analyzing gravitational wave data.
method Trained a neural-network to model posterior probability distributions over 15-dimensional system parameters.
result Generated accurate posterior samples at high speed.
Simulators often provide the best description of real-world phenomena. However, they also lead to challenging inverse problems because the density they implicitly define is often intractable. We present a new suite of simulation-based inference techniques that go beyond the traditional Approximate Bayesian Computation …
Efficient neural Bayes estimators for censored peaks-over-threshold models improve inference speed and accuracy.
problem Computational burden in inference with spatial extremal dependence models due to intractable or censored likelihoods.
method Developed neural Bayes estimators using data augmentation techniques to encode censoring information.
result Significant gains in computational and statistical efficiency compared to traditional methods.
A new method for experimental design focuses on predicting downstream quantities of interest.
problem Designs that maximize parameter learning may not maximize downstream quantity prediction.
method Likelihood-free goal-oriented optimal experimental design (LF-GO-OED) using ABC density ratio estimation.
result LF-GO-OED maximizes the expected information gain for downstream quantities.
A new method improves likelihood-free Bayesian inference by transforming summary statistics and using efficient Variational Bayes.
problem Incorrectly assuming normally distributed summary statistics in likelihood-free Bayesian inference.
method Wasserstein Gaussianization transformation combined with robust BSL and efficient Variational Bayes.
result Highly efficient and reliable approximate Bayesian inference for likelihood-free problems.