The variational autoencoder (VAE) is a popular model for density estimation and representation learning. Canonically, the variational principle suggests to prefer an expressive inference model so that the variational approximation is accurate. However, it is often overlooked that an overly-expressive inference model ca…
This paper compares amortized methods for Bayesian posterior estimation.
problem Bayesian inference difficulties with iterative routines.
method Amortized in-context Bayesian posterior estimation using transformers and normalizing flows.
result Reverse KL estimator superior for predictive problems.
Self-consistency improves the accuracy of model comparison methods.
problem Improving the accuracy of model comparison methods when simulation models are misspecified.
method Supplement traditional simulation-based training with a self-consistency loss on unlabeled real data.
result Self-consistency training improves model comparison accuracy, especially in open-world scenarios.
Efficiently predicts optimal transport plans using sliced potentials.
problem Predicting optimal transport plans across multiple measure pairs efficiently.
method Regression-based and objective-based amortization strategies using sliced optimal transport potentials.
result Efficient and accurate prediction of optimal transport plans for various tasks.
Naive approaches to amortized inference in probabilistic programs with unbounded loops can produce estimators with infinite variance. This is particularly true of importance sampling inference in programs that explicitly include rejection sampling as part of the user-programmed generative procedure. In this paper we de…
Adversarial robustness of amortized Bayesian inference is studied, showing it can be improved.
problem Adversarial robustness of amortized Bayesian inference.
method Simulation-based estimation, regularization scheme based on Fisher information.
result Adversarial robustness can be improved with a regularization scheme.
Current approaches to amortizing Bayesian inference focus solely on approximating the posterior distribution. Typically, this approximation is, in turn, used to calculate expectations for one or more target functions - a computational pipeline which is inefficient when the target function(s) are known upfront. In this …
New method uses neural networks to efficiently approximate Bayesian inference for complex models.
problem Efficiently approximating Bayesian inference for complex models with varying temperatures.
method Fully amortized neural posterior estimator trained on a single forward pass.
result Achieves competitive posterior approximations across various temperatures and benchmarks.
CogFormer trains a transformer to estimate parameters across various cognitive models.
problem Difficulty in fitting complex cognitive models and iterating over varying assumptions.
method Meta-amortized framework using a transformer to estimate parameters across multiple models.
result CogFormer accurately estimates parameters across different model families with minimal retraining.
A new recursive mixture estimation algorithm improves VAE inference efficiency and accuracy.
problem Inaccurate posterior approximation in traditional VAEs.
method Recursive mixture estimation algorithm using functional gradient approach for iterative component selection.
result Significantly higher test data likelihood compared to state-of-the-art methods on benchmark datasets.
New method improves causal structure discovery with Prior-Fitted Networks.
problem Errors in likelihood estimation limit proper causal structure discovery.
method Amortized causal discovery with Prior-Fitted Networks.
result Significant gains in structure recovery compared to baselines.
Neural processes approximate Gaussian process inference, revealing three key costs.
problem Approximating Gaussian process inference with neural processes.
method Bounding KL divergence into three components: label contamination, information bottleneck, and amortization error.
result Characterization of three costs of amortizing Gaussian process inference with neural processes.
Improved state estimation in nonlinear models using amortized backward variational inference.
problem State estimation in general state-space models.
method Amortized backward variational inference with neural network parameters.
result Linear growth of variational approximation error in number of observations.
BayesFlow trains neural networks for fast Bayesian inference.
problem Fast Bayesian inference for complex models.
method Amortized neural networks for intractable posterior distributions.
result Fast inference through pre-trained neural networks.
FalconBC improves patient-specific cardiovascular modeling by estimating boundary conditions efficiently.
problem Efficiently estimating boundary conditions in patient-specific cardiovascular models, especially in open-loop models and anatomies with lesions.
method A general amortized inference framework based on probabilistic flow that treats clinical targets and anatomies as conditioning variables.
result Demonstrated on two patient-specific models, FalconBC improves efficiency and accuracy in estimating boundary conditions.
JANA trains networks to approximate Bayesian models efficiently.
problem Intractable likelihood functions and posterior densities in Bayesian models.
method End-to-end training of three networks: summary, posterior, and likelihood networks.
result JANA provides accurate amortized marginal likelihood and posterior predictive estimation.
New methods make Bayesian inference feasible for complex cognitive models.
problem Bayesian inference is hard for complex, unknown models.
method Amortized neural network estimators for simulation-based inference.
result Effort in training networks amortizes over multiple uses.
UA-SABI uses surrogates to speed up Bayesian inference for expensive models.
problem Inference for computationally expensive models is slow and uncertain.
method Combines surrogate modeling with Amortized Bayesian Inference (ABI) to propagate uncertainties.
result Reliable, fast, and repeated Bayesian inference for expensive models is achieved.
New method improves variational inference for better posterior approximation.
problem Challenges in minimizing inclusive KL divergence for amortized variational inference.
method Likelihood-tempered sequential Monte Carlo samplers to estimate inclusive KL gradient.
result SMC-Wake method fits variational distributions more accurately than existing methods.
Paper presents a fast method for estimating hidden states in Bayesian models.
problem Estimating hidden states in Bayesian state space models efficiently.
method Amortized simulation-based inference with pretraining.
result The method achieves sufficient accuracy and fast inference times.
ACE improves GBI for simulators by approximating cost functions, making inference more efficient.
problem Inference for misspecified simulators is overly restrictive.
method Amortized cost estimation (ACE) for Generalized Bayesian Inference (GBI).
result ACE provides accurate cost predictions and more efficient inference.
Amortized VI for DGPs learns efficient inference.
problem Expressive limitations in GP approximations.
method Amortized variational inference for DGPs.
result Improved expressive prior and posterior for DGPs.
Inference models are a key component in scaling variational inference to deep latent variable models, most notably as encoder networks in variational auto-encoders (VAEs). By replacing conventional optimization-based inference with a learned model, inference is amortized over data examples and therefore more computatio…
We introduce "Search with Amortized Value Estimates" (SAVE), an approach for combining model-free Q-learning with model-based Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS). In SAVE, a learned prior over state-action values is used to guide MCTS, which estimates an improved set of state-action values. The new Q-estimates are then used…
JADAI optimizes design and inference for parameter estimation.
problem Parameter estimation with active optimization of design variables.
method Jointly trains a policy, history network, and inference network to minimize posterior error.
result Achieves superior or competitive performance across benchmarks.
The study compares Bayesian and frequentist approaches in deep learning.
problem Comparing Bayesian and frequentist inference in deep learning.
method Conducts a comparative analysis of point and posterior estimators across various settings.
result Amortized point estimators generally outperform posterior inference, though posterior inference remains competitive in some low-dimensional problems.
A new method decouples set representation learning from posterior modeling for efficient amortized inference.
problem Efficient inference for large sets of observations with shared factors.
method Train a mean-pool Deep Set on sets of size at most two, then finetune the inference head on pre-aggregated embeddings.
result Matches or outperforms standard baselines at a fraction of the compute cost for large N.
SurvivalPFN simplifies survival analysis through amortized Bayesian inference.
problem Selecting appropriate survival analysis methods requires expertise and can be time-consuming.
method SurvivalPFN uses a prior-data fitted network for in-context Bayesian inference.
result SurvivalPFN achieves strong predictive performance across diverse datasets.
Neural networks speed up statistical inference.
problem Efficient statistical inference for complex models.
method Neural networks for learning complex mappings.
result Amortized inference speeds up inference processes.
BayesFlow 2 speeds up Bayesian inference for complex models.
problem Slow Bayesian inference for complex models.
method Amortized Bayesian inference with neural networks.
result Streamlined workflow supports broad adoption.
ALINE optimizes Bayesian inference and data acquisition by strategically querying informative data.
problem Strategic acquisition of informative data for Bayesian inference in challenging tasks.
method Unified framework combining amortized Bayesian inference and active data acquisition using a transformer architecture trained via reinforcement learning.
result ALINE delivers both instant and accurate inference along with efficient selection of informative points.
New method improves ABI for sequential data, reducing forgetting and improving accuracy.
problem Performance degradation of ABI under model misspecification and distribution shifts.
method Decouples simulation-based pre-training from unsupervised SC fine-tuning, using memory buffer and elastic weight consolidation.
result Significant mitigation of forgetting and improved posterior estimates compared to standard simulation-based training.
A new method for fast Bayesian mixture model estimation.
problem Estimating Bayesian mixture models is computationally challenging.
method Amortized Bayesian Inference (ABI) framework for mixture models.
result The method provides fast inference for mixture models.
A-GPS learns to generate Pareto sets efficiently with user preferences.
problem Online discrete multi-objective optimization with user preferences.
method Generative model with class probability estimator (CPE) for non-dominance and preference alignment.
result Amortized generative model for efficient Pareto set approximation.
ABI adapts to graph data for fast, scalable inference.
problem Challenges in inference on graph-structured data.
method Amortized Bayesian Inference (ABI) framework for graph data.
result ABI successfully addresses challenges in graph data inference.
SC improves robustness in model comparison for misspecified models.
problem Model misspecification challenges in amortized Bayesian inference.
method Parameter posterior-based methods augmented with SC training.
result SC improves robustness under model misspecification.
This paper reviews recent advancements in amortized Variational Inference.
problem Scalability and efficiency issues in traditional Variational Inference.
method Systematic review of various Variational Inference techniques, focusing on amortized approaches.
result Amortized Variational Inference improves scalability and efficiency for generative modeling tasks.
Paper introduces IO-NPF for efficient Bayesian experimental design.
problem Efficient Bayesian experimental design in non-exchangeable settings.
method Inside-Out Nested Particle Filter (IO-NPF) for non-Markovian state-space models.
result IO-NPF achieves O(T2) computational complexity, improving efficiency. Improves point-cloud reconstruction by optimizing projections with self-attention.
problem Inefficient and non-metric projection methods for sliced Wasserstein distances.
method Proposes distributional sliced Wasserstein distance with self-attention for permutation-invariant and metric optimization.
result Self-attention amortized distributional projection optimization achieves better performance in point-cloud reconstruction.
Paper tackles scalable VFL with data augmentation and amortized inference.
problem Collaborative model estimation across multiple clients with distinct covariates.
method Data augmentation, amortized variational approximation, factorized likelihoods.
result Scalable Bayesian VFL framework for various models.
New option type preserves fungibility by amortizing payments over time.
problem Traditional installment options destroy fungibility and lapse when payments stop.
method Introduces amortizing perpetual options (AmPOs) with an implicit payment scheme.
result Valuation of AmPOs reduces to vanilla perpetual American options.
AR-DAE approximates entropy gradient for machine learning models.
problem Intractable computation of entropy gradient for continuous distributions.
method Amortized residual denoising autoencoder (AR-DAE) to approximate entropy gradient.
result AR-DAE provides an unbiased gradient approximation for entropy.
A new method optimizes projection directions for sliced Wasserstein distances.
problem Finding informative projecting directions for sliced Wasserstein distances is computationally expensive.
method Amortized projection optimization to predict directions efficiently.
result Proposed amortized models improve generative modeling performance.
Adaptive workflow combines fast amortized inference with MCMC for many datasets.
problem Trade-off between computational speed and sampling accuracy in Bayesian inference.
method Adaptive workflow integrating amortized inference and MCMC with principled diagnostics.
result Efficiency gains with high posterior quality on tens of thousands of datasets.
New method speeds up galaxy analysis from hours to seconds.
problem Infeasibility of state-of-the-art SED analyses for large surveys.
method Amortized Neural Posterior Estimation (ANPE) for scalable Bayesian inference.
result Posterior distributions of 12 model parameters estimated in seconds per galaxy.
Posterior inference with an intractable likelihood is becoming an increasingly common task in scientific domains which rely on sophisticated computer simulations. Typically, these forward models do not admit tractable densities forcing practitioners to make use of approximations. This work introduces a novel approach t…
ASPIRE improves amortized posterior inference for Bayesian inverse problems.
problem Bayesian inverse problems are computationally challenging due to uncertainty quantification.
method Iterative refinement of amortized posteriors using physics-based and summary statistics.
result ASPIRE achieves better posterior approximations with minimal extra computations.
Theoretical guarantees for neural estimators in parametric statistics are derived.
problem Lack of theoretical guarantees for neural estimators in parametric statistics.
method Decompose risk into terms and verify assumptions for convergence.
result Derive theoretical guarantees for neural estimators.