Bayesian Reasoning And Gaussian Processes For Machine Learning Applications

This book introduces Bayesian reasoning and Gaussian processes into machine learning applications. Bayesian methods are applied in many areas, such as game development, decision making, and drug discovery. It is very effective for machine learning algorithms in handling missing data and extracting information from small datasets. Bayesian Reasoning and Gaussian Processes for Machine Learning Applications uses a statistical background to understand continuous distributions and how learning can be viewed from a probabilistic framework. The chapters progress into such machine learning topics as belief network and Bayesian reinforcement learning, which is followed by Gaussian process introduction, classification, regression, covariance, and performance analysis of Gaussian processes with other models. FEATURES Contains recent advancements in machine learning Highlights applications of machine learning algorithms Offers both quantitative and qualitative research Includes numerous case studies This book is aimed at graduates, researchers, and professionals in the field of data science and machine learning.

This book introduces Bayesian reasoning and Gaussian processes into machine learning applications. Bayesian methods are applied in many areas, such as game development, decision making, and drug discovery. It is very effective for machine learning algorithms in handling missing data and extracting information from small datasets. Bayesian Reasoning and Gaussian Processes for Machine Learning Applications uses a statistical background to understand continuous distributions and how learning can be viewed from a probabilistic framework. The chapters progress into such machine learning topics as belief network and Bayesian reinforcement learning, which is followed by Gaussian process introduction, classification, regression, covariance, and performance analysis of Gaussian processes with other models. FEATURES Contains recent advancements in machine learning Highlights applications of machine learning algorithms Offers both quantitative and qualitative research Includes numerous case studies This book is aimed at graduates, researchers, and professionals in the field of data science and machine learning.

A practical introduction perfect for final-year undergraduate and graduate students without a solid background in linear algebra and calculus.

A comprehensive and self-contained introduction to Gaussian processes, which provide a principled, practical, probabilistic approach to learning in kernel machines. Gaussian processes (GPs) provide a principled, practical, probabilistic approach to learning in kernel machines. GPs have received increased attention in the machine-learning community over the past decade, and this book provides a long-needed systematic and unified treatment of theoretical and practical aspects of GPs in machine learning. The treatment is comprehensive and self-contained, targeted at researchers and students in machine learning and applied statistics. The book deals with the supervised-learning problem for both regression and classification, and includes detailed algorithms. A wide variety of covariance (kernel) functions are presented and their properties discussed. Model selection is discussed both from a Bayesian and a classical perspective. Many connections to other well-known techniques from machine learning and statistics are discussed, including support-vector machines, neural networks, splines, regularization networks, relevance vector machines and others. Theoretical issues including learning curves and the PAC-Bayesian framework are treated, and several approximation methods for learning with large datasets are discussed. The book contains illustrative examples and exercises, and code and datasets are available on the Web. Appendixes provide mathematical background and a discussion of Gaussian Markov processes.

Machine learning methods extract value from vast data sets quickly and with modest resources. They are established tools in a wide range of industrial applications, including search engines, DNA sequencing, stock market analysis, and robot locomotion, and their use is spreading rapidly. People who know the methods have their choice of rewarding jobs. This hands-on text opens these opportunities to computer science students with modest mathematical backgrounds. It is designed for final-year undergraduates and master's students with limited background in linear algebra and calculus. Comprehensive and coherent, it develops everything from basic reasoning to advanced techniques within the framework of graphical models. Students learn more than a menu of techniques, they develop analytical and problem-solving skills that equip them for the real world. Numerous examples and exercises, both computer based and theoretical, are included in every chapter. Resources for students and instructors, including a MATLAB toolbox, are available online.

This book examines Gaussian processes in both model-based reinforcement learning (RL) and inference in nonlinear dynamic systems.First, we introduce PILCO, a fully Bayesian approach for efficient RL in continuous-valued state and action spaces when no expert knowledge is available. PILCO takes model uncertainties consistently into account during long-term planning to reduce model bias. Second, we propose principled algorithms for robust filtering and smoothing in GP dynamic systems.

"Vast amounts of data present amajor challenge to all thoseworking in computer science, and its many related fields, who need to process and extract value from such data. Machine learning technology is already used to help with this task in a wide range of industrial applications, including search engines, DNA sequencing, stock market analysis and robot locomotion. As its usage becomes more widespread, no student should be without the skills taught in this book. Designed for final-year undergraduate and graduate students, this gentle introduction is ideally suited to readers without a solid background in linear algebra and calculus. It covers everything from basic reasoning to advanced techniques in machine learning, and rucially enables students to construct their own models for real-world problems by teaching them what lies behind the methods. Numerous examples and exercises are included in the text. Comprehensive resources for students and instructors are available online"--

Artificial "neural networks" are widely used as flexible models for classification and regression applications, but questions remain about how the power of these models can be safely exploited when training data is limited. This book demonstrates how Bayesian methods allow complex neural network models to be used without fear of the "overfitting" that can occur with traditional training methods. Insight into the nature of these complex Bayesian models is provided by a theoretical investigation of the priors over functions that underlie them. A practical implementation of Bayesian neural network learning using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods is also described, and software for it is freely available over the Internet. Presupposing only basic knowledge of probability and statistics, this book should be of interest to researchers in statistics, engineering, and artificial intelligence.