
Active inference and artificial curiosity (2017) [video] - espeed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1egnoCWgUg
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carapace
> Professor Karl Friston (University College London) speaks at the University
> of Edinburgh, 31st March 2017.

> Abstract: This talk offers a formal account of insight and learning in terms
> of active (Bayesian) inference. It deals with the dual problem of inferring
> states of the world and learning its statistical structure. In contrast to
> current trends in machine learning (e.g., deep learning), we focus on how
> agents learn from a small number of ambiguous outcomes to form insight.

> Karl will present simulations of abstract rule-learning and approximate
> Bayesian inference to show that minimising (expected) free energy leads to
> active sampling of novel contingencies. This epistemic, curiosity-directed
> behaviour closes ‘explanatory gaps’ in knowledge about the causal structure
> of the world; thereby reducing ignorance, in addition to resolving
> uncertainty about states of the known world.

> We then move from inference to model selection or structure learning to show
> how abductive processes emerge when agents test plausible hypotheses about
> symmetries in their generative models of the world. The ensuing Bayesian
> model reduction evokes mechanisms associated with sleep and has all the
> hallmarks of ‘aha moments’.

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paraschopra
I've been exploring into this space. Some more links for people who are
interested:

\- A tutorial on active inference [https://medium.com/@solopchuk/tutorial-on-
active-inference-3...](https://medium.com/@solopchuk/tutorial-on-active-
inference-30edcf50f5dc)

\- Deep Active Inference [https://kaiu.me/2017/07/11/introducing-the-deep-
active-infer...](https://kaiu.me/2017/07/11/introducing-the-deep-active-
inference-agent/)

\- A minimal active inference agent
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273640094_A_Minimal...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273640094_A_Minimal_Active_Inference_Agent)

\- The book Surfing Uncertainty is the longest exposition of this idea that
I've come across. It's review [http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/05/book-
review-surfing-unc...](http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/05/book-review-
surfing-uncertainty/)

\- SlateStarCodex on 'God Help Us, Let's Try to Understand Friston'
[http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/04/god-help-us-lets-try-
to...](http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/04/god-help-us-lets-try-to-
understand-friston-on-free-energy/)

If anyone is interested in exploring the area, we can form a little study
group. Contact me paras1987 <at> gmail <dot> com. My near-term goal is to
implement an agent that does active inference in Python or PyTorch.

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pgt
This is some of the most important work I’ve encountered in machine learning,
to-date.

