Related papers: Optimal Prior Pooling from Expert Opinions
Likelihood-free inference (LFI) methods, such as approximate Bayesian computation, have become commonplace for conducting inference in complex models. Many approaches are based on summary statistics or discrepancies derived from synthetic…
In collaborative forecast projects, the combining of multiple probabilistic forecasts into an ensemble is standard practice, with linear pooling being a common combination method. The weighting scheme of a linear pool should be tailored to…
Given a random variable $O \in \mathbb{R}$ and a set of experts $E$, we describe a method for finding a subset of experts $S \subseteq E$ whose aggregated opinion best predicts the outcome of $O$. Therefore, the problem can be regarded as a…
Methods are developed for eliciting a Dirichlet prior based upon bounds on the individual probabilities that hold with virtual certainty. This approach to selecting a prior is applied to a contingency table problem where it is demonstrated…
In this work we study the problem of inferring a discrete probability distribution using both expert knowledge and empirical data. This is an important issue for many applications where the scarcity of data prevents a purely empirical…
We present a new algorithm to optimize distributions defined implicitly by parameterized stochastic diffusions. Doing so allows us to modify the outcome distribution of sampling processes by optimizing over their parameters. We introduce a…
Bounded confidence opinion dynamics model the propagation of information in social networks. However in the existing literature, opinions are only viewed as abstract quantities without semantics rather than as part of a decision-making…
Bayesian optimisation is a well-known sample-efficient method for the optimisation of expensive black-box functions. However when dealing with big search spaces the algorithm goes through several low function value regions before reaching…
In the absence of historical data for use as forecasting inputs, decision makers often ask a panel of judges to predict the outcome of interest, leveraging the wisdom of the crowd (Surowiecki 2005). Even if the crowd is large and skilled,…
When dealing with Bayesian inference the choice of the prior often remains a debatable question. Empirical Bayes methods offer a data-driven solution to this problem by estimating the prior itself from an ensemble of data. In the…
The rise of social media and online social networks has been a disruptive force in society. Opinions are increasingly shaped by interactions on online social media, and social phenomena including disagreement and polarization are now…
Information pooling has been extensively formalised across various logical frameworks in distributed systems, characterized by diverse information-sharing patterns. These approaches generally adopt an intersection perspective, aggregating…
The problem of combining the evidence concerning an unknown, contained in each of $k$ Bayesian inference bases, is discussed. This can be considered as a generalization of the problem of pooling $k$ priors to determine a consensus prior.…
Understanding how individuals change their opinions is essential to mitigate the harmful effect of fake news and stop opinion polarization. Building upon an extremely flexible opinion dynamics model that can capture the key microscopic…
Consider a photon that has just emerged from a linear polarizing filter. If the photon is then subjected to an orthogonal polarization measurement-e.g., horizontal vs vertical-the photon's preparation cannot be fully expressed in the…
In the framework of convolutional neural networks, downsampling is often performed with an average-pooling, where all the activations are treated equally, or with a max-pooling operation that only retains an element with maximum activation…
Many social phenomena are triggered by public opinion that is formed in the process of opinion exchange among individuals. To date, from the engineering point of view, a large body of work has been devoted to studying how to manipulate…
Study of the bivariate normal distribution raises the full range of issues involving objective Bayesian inference, including the different types of objective priors (e.g., Jeffreys, invariant, reference, matching), the different modes of…
To include parameter uncertainty into probabilistic climate forecasts one must first specify a prior. We advocate the use of objective priors, and, in particular, the Jeffreys' Prior. In previous work we have derived expressions for the…
Randomness in scientific estimation is generally assumed to arise from unmeasured or uncontrolled factors. However, when combining subjective probability estimates, heterogeneity stemming from people's cognitive or information diversity is…