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Related papers: Active Inference or Control as Inference? A Unifyi…

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Inspired by the concept of active learning, we propose active inference$\unicode{x2013}$a methodology for statistical inference with machine-learning-assisted data collection. Assuming a budget on the number of labels that can be collected,…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-04-09 Tijana Zrnic , Emmanuel J. Candès

Active inference offers a principled account of behavior as minimizing average sensory surprise over time. Applications of active inference to control problems have heretofore tended to focus on finite-horizon or discounted-surprise…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2022-08-24 Eli Sennesh , Jordan Theriault , Jan-Willem van de Meent , Lisa Feldman Barrett , Karen Quigley

Active inference is a process theory of the brain that states that all living organisms infer actions in order to minimize their (expected) free energy. However, current experiments are limited to predefined, often discrete, state spaces.…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-02-25 Ozan Çatal , Tim Verbelen , Johannes Nauta , Cedric De Boom , Bart Dhoedt

Sensory inference under conditions of uncertainty is a major problem in both machine learning and computational neuroscience. An important but poorly understood aspect of sensory processing is the role of active sensing. Here, we present a…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2014-08-12 Sheeraz Ahmad , Angela Yu

Sensory inference under conditions of uncertainty is a major problem in both machine learning and computational neuroscience. An important but poorly understood aspect of sensory processing is the role of active sensing. Here, we present a…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2013-05-30 Sheeraz Ahmad , Angela J. Yu

Active Inference is a theory of action arising from neuroscience which casts action and planning as a bayesian inference problem to be solved by minimizing a single quantity - the variational free energy. Active Inference promises a…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2019-07-10 Beren Millidge

Machine Learning (ML) is a common tool to interpret and predict the behavior of distributed computing systems, e.g., to optimize the task distribution between devices. As more and more data is created by Internet of Things (IoT) devices,…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2023-11-20 Boris Sedlak , Victor Casamayor Pujol , Praveen Kumar Donta , Schahram Dustdar

In reinforcement learning (RL), agents often operate in partially observed and uncertain environments. Model-based RL suggests that this is best achieved by learning and exploiting a probabilistic model of the world. 'Active inference' is…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2019-11-26 Alexander Tschantz , Manuel Baltieri , Anil. K. Seth , Christopher L. Buckley

Given the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, understanding the foundations of intelligent behaviour is increasingly important. Active inference, regarded as a general theory of behaviour, offers a principled approach to probing…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2024-06-12 Aswin Paul , Takuya Isomura , Adeel Razi

In this paper we introduce a general estimation methodology for learning a model of human perception and control in a sensorimotor control task based upon a finite set of demonstrations. The model's structure consists of i the agent's…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-05-02 Ran Wei , Anthony D. McDonald , Alfredo Garcia , Gustav Markkula , Johan Engstrom , Matthew O'Kelly

With recent and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), understanding the foundation of purposeful behaviour in autonomous agents is crucial for developing safe and efficient systems. While artificial neural networks have…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2025-08-12 Aswin Paul , Moein Khajehnejad , Forough Habibollahi , Brett J. Kagan , Adeel Razi

Flexible, goal-directed behavior is a fundamental aspect of human life. Based on the free energy minimization principle, the theory of active inference formalizes the generation of such behavior from a computational neuroscience…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2022-08-03 Fedor Scholz , Christian Gumbsch , Sebastian Otte , Martin V. Butz

Is there a canonical way to think of agency beyond reward maximisation? In this paper, we show that any type of behaviour complying with physically sound assumptions about how macroscopic biological agents interact with the world…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2024-01-24 Lancelot Da Costa , Samuel Tenka , Dominic Zhao , Noor Sajid

To determine an optimal plan for complex tasks, one often deals with dynamic and hierarchical relationships between several entities. Traditionally, such problems are tackled with optimal control, which relies on the optimization of cost…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-05-12 Matteo Priorelli , Ivilin Peev Stoianov

Unlike robots, humans learn, adapt and perceive their bodies by interacting with the world. Discovering how the brain represents the body and generates actions is of major importance for robotics and artificial intelligence. Here we discuss…

Robotics · Computer Science 2021-05-11 Pablo Lanillos , Marcel van Gerven

Active inference is a normative principle underwriting perception, action, planning, decision-making and learning in biological or artificial agents. From its inception, its associated process theory has grown to incorporate complex…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2021-02-02 Lancelot Da Costa , Thomas Parr , Noor Sajid , Sebastijan Veselic , Victorita Neacsu , Karl Friston

Collision avoidance -- involving a rapid threat detection and quick execution of the appropriate evasive maneuver -- is a critical aspect of driving. However, existing models of human collision avoidance behavior are fragmented, focusing on…

Active inference, a theoretical construct inspired by brain processing, is a promising alternative to control artificial agents. However, current methods do not yet scale to high-dimensional inputs in continuous control. Here we present a…

Robotics · Computer Science 2021-03-09 Cristian Meo , Pablo Lanillos

This paper presents a computational account of how legal norms can influence the behavior of artificial intelligence (AI) agents, grounded in the active inference framework (AIF) that is informed by principles of economic legal analysis…

Computers and Society · Computer Science 2025-11-25 Axel Constant , Mahault Albarracin , Karl J. Friston

This technical note considers the sampling of outcomes that provide the greatest amount of information about the structure of underlying world models. This generalisation furnishes a principled approach to structure learning under a…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2025-12-25 Karl Friston , Lancelot Da Costa , Alexander Tschantz , Conor Heins , Christopher Buckley , Tim Verbelen , Thomas Parr