Related papers: A trust-region method for stochastic variational i…
Many modern unsupervised or semi-supervised machine learning algorithms rely on Bayesian probabilistic models. These models are usually intractable and thus require approximate inference. Variational inference (VI) lets us approximate a…
We empirically evaluate a stochastic annealing strategy for Bayesian posterior optimization with variational inference. Variational inference is a deterministic approach to approximate posterior inference in Bayesian models in which a…
We consider trust-region methods for solving optimization problems where the objective is the sum of a smooth, nonconvex function and a nonsmooth, convex regularizer. We extend the global convergence theory of such methods to include…
We develop stochastic variational inference, a scalable algorithm for approximating posterior distributions. We develop this technique for a large class of probabilistic models and we demonstrate it with two probabilistic topic models,…
In this paper, we develop and analyze sub-sampled trust-region methods for solving finite-sum optimization problems. These methods employ subsampling strategies to approximate the gradient and Hessian of the objective function,…
Convex and nonconvex finite-sum minimization arises in many scientific computing and machine learning applications. Recently, first-order and second-order methods where objective functions, gradients and Hessians are approximated by…
We propose a trust-region type method for a class of nonsmooth nonconvex optimization problems where the objective function is a summation of a (probably nonconvex) smooth function and a (probably nonsmooth) convex function. The model…
We propose a trust-region stochastic sequential quadratic programming algorithm (TR-StoSQP) to solve nonlinear optimization problems with stochastic objectives and deterministic equality constraints. We consider a fully stochastic setting,…
While stochastic variational inference is relatively well known for scaling inference in Bayesian probabilistic models, related methods also offer ways to circumnavigate the approximation of analytically intractable expectations. The key…
Distributed inference/estimation in Bayesian framework in the context of sensor networks has recently received much attention due to its broad applicability. The variational Bayesian (VB) algorithm is a technique for approximating…
In this paper, we present convergence guarantees for a modified trust-region method designed for minimizing objective functions whose value and gradient and Hessian estimates are computed with noise. These estimates are produced by generic…
Bayesian inference plays an important role in advancing machine learning, but faces computational challenges when applied to complex models such as deep neural networks. Variational inference circumvents these challenges by formulating…
Stochastic variational inference is an established way to carry out approximate Bayesian inference for deep models. While there have been effective proposals for good initializations for loss minimization in deep learning, far less…
Using tail bounds, we introduce a new probabilistic condition for function estimation in stochastic derivative-free optimization which leads to a reduction in the number of samples and eases algorithmic analyses. Moreover, we develop simple…
In many important machine learning applications, the standard assumption of having a globally Lipschitz continuous gradient may fail to hold. This paper delves into a more general $(L_0, L_1)$-smoothness setting, which gains particular…
Uncertainty quantification for estimation through stochastic optimization solutions in an online setting has gained popularity recently. This paper introduces a novel inference method focused on constructing confidence intervals with…
Developing efficient solutions for inference problems in intelligent sensor networks is crucial for the next generation of location, tracking, and mapping services. This paper develops a scalable distributed probabilistic inference…
We propose a novel Bayesian approach to the problem of variable selection in multiple linear regression models. In particular, we present a hierarchical setting which allows for direct specification of a-priori beliefs about the number of…
In this work we present a novel technique, based on a trust-region optimization algorithm and second-order trajectory sensitivities, to compute the extreme trajectories of power system dynamic simulations given a bounded set that represents…
We present a new algorithm for approximate inference in probabilistic programs, based on a stochastic gradient for variational programs. This method is efficient without restrictions on the probabilistic program; it is particularly…