Related papers: Scalable Variational Inference for Multinomial Pro…

Approximating complex probability densities is a core problem in modern statistics. In this paper, we introduce the concept of Variational Inference (VI), a popular method in machine learning that uses optimization techniques to estimate…

Dynamic factor models are often estimated by point-estimation methods, disregarding parameter uncertainty. We propose a method accounting for parameter uncertainty by means of posterior approximation, using variational inference. Our…

A common assumption in the fitting of unordered multinomial response models for $J$ mutually exclusive categories is that the responses arise from the same set of $J$ categories across subjects. However, when responses measure a choice made…

We propose a stochastic gradient Markov chain Monte Carlo (SG-MCMC) algorithm for scalable inference in mixed-membership stochastic blockmodels (MMSB). Our algorithm is based on the stochastic gradient Riemannian Langevin sampler and…

Embedding deep neural networks (NNs) into mixed-integer programs (MIPs) is attractive for decision making with learned constraints, yet state-of-the-art monolithic linearisations blow up in size and quickly become intractable. In this…

We propose and implement an approach to inference in linear instrumental variables models which is simultaneously robust and computationally tractable. Inference is based on self-normalization of sample moment conditions, and allows for…

The error scaling for Markov-Chain Monte Carlo techniques (MCMC) with $N$ samples behaves like $1/\sqrt{N}$. This scaling makes it often very time intensive to reduce the error of computed observables, in particular for applications in…

A multirate nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) strategy is proposed for systems with dynamics and control inputs evolving on different timescales. The proposed multirate formulation of the system model and receding horizon optimal…

Performing exact Bayesian inference for complex models is computationally intractable. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms can provide reliable approximations of the posterior distribution but are expensive for large datasets and…

In this paper, we revisit parameter estimation for multinomial logit (MNL), nested logit (NL), and tree-nested logit (TNL) models through the framework of convex conic optimization. Traditional approaches typically solve the maximum…

There has been considerable interest in making Bayesian inference more scalable. In big data settings, most literature focuses on reducing the computing time per iteration, with less focused on reducing the number of iterations needed in…

We present a scalable approach to performing approximate fully Bayesian inference in generic state space models. The proposed method is an alternative to particle MCMC that provides fully Bayesian inference of both the dynamic latent states…

Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are often used for approximate inference inside learning, but their slow mixing can be difficult to diagnose and the approximations can seriously degrade learning. To alleviate these issues, we…

Mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) is widely employed for modeling combinatorial optimization problems. In practice, similar MILP instances with only coefficient variations are routinely solved, and machine learning (ML) algorithms are…

Variational inference (VI) is widely used as an efficient alternative to Markov chain Monte Carlo. It posits a family of approximating distributions $q$ and finds the closest member to the exact posterior $p$. Closeness is usually measured…

Variational inference is a fast and scalable alternative to Markov chain Monte Carlo and has been widely applied to posterior inference tasks in statistics and machine learning. A traditional approach for implementing mean-field variational…

Many estimators of dynamic discrete choice models with persistent unobserved heterogeneity have desirable statistical properties but are computationally intensive. In this paper we propose a method to quicken estimation for a broad class of…

Existing risk-aware multi-armed bandit models typically focus on risk measures of individual options such as variance. As a result, they cannot be directly applied to important real-world online decision making problems with correlated…

Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods are used to carry out inference in non-linear and non-Gaussian state space models, where the posterior density of the states is approximated using particles. Current approaches usually perform…

Contextual Markov decision processes (CMDPs) describe a class of reinforcement learning problems in which the transition kernels and reward functions can change over time with different MDPs indexed by a context variable. While CMDPs serve…