共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
Active Inference (AIF) is a framework that can be used both to describe information processing in naturally intelligent systems, such as the human brain, and to design synthetic intelligent systems (agents). In this paper we show that Expected Free Energy (EFE) minimisation, a core feature of the framework, does not lead to purposeful explorative behaviour in linear Gaussian dynamical systems. We provide a simple proof that, due to the specific construction used for the EFE, the terms responsible for the exploratory (epistemic) drive become constant in the case of linear Gaussian systems. This renders AIF equivalent to KL control. From a theoretical point of view this is an interesting result since it is generally assumed that EFE minimisation will always introduce an exploratory drive in AIF agents. While the full EFE objective does not lead to exploration in linear Gaussian dynamical systems, the principles of its construction can still be used to design objectives that include an epistemic drive. We provide an in-depth analysis of the mechanics behind the epistemic drive of AIF agents and show how to design objectives for linear Gaussian dynamical systems that do include an epistemic drive. Concretely, we show that focusing solely on epistemics and dispensing with goal-directed terms leads to a form of maximum entropy exploration that is heavily dependent on the type of control signals driving the system. Additive controls do not permit such exploration. From a practical point of view this is an important result since linear Gaussian dynamical systems with additive controls are an extensively used model class, encompassing for instance Linear Quadratic Gaussian controllers. On the other hand, linear Gaussian dynamical systems driven by multiplicative controls such as switching transition matrices do permit an exploratory drive. 相似文献
2.
3.
Stephen Fox 《Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)》2021,23(4)
Unlike ecosystem engineering by other living things, which brings a relatively limited range of sensations that are connected to a few enduring survival preferences, human ecosystem engineering brings an increasing variety and frequency of novel sensations. Many of these novel sensations can quickly become preferences as they indicate that human life will be less strenuous and more stimulating. Furthermore, they can soon become addictive. By contrast, unwanted surprise from these novel sensations may become apparent decades later. This recognition can come after the survival of millions of humans and other species has been undermined. In this paper, it is explained that, while multiscale free energy provides a useful hypothesis for framing human ecosystem engineering, disconnects between preferences and survival from human ecosystem engineering limit the application of current assumptions that underlie continuous state-space and discrete state-space modelling of active inference. 相似文献
4.
Active inference is a normative framework for explaining behaviour under the free energy principle—a theory of self-organisation originating in neuroscience. It specifies neuronal dynamics for state-estimation in terms of a descent on (variational) free energy—a measure of the fit between an internal (generative) model and sensory observations. The free energy gradient is a prediction error—plausibly encoded in the average membrane potentials of neuronal populations. Conversely, the expected probability of a state can be expressed in terms of neuronal firing rates. We show that this is consistent with current models of neuronal dynamics and establish face validity by synthesising plausible electrophysiological responses. We then show that these neuronal dynamics approximate natural gradient descent, a well-known optimisation algorithm from information geometry that follows the steepest descent of the objective in information space. We compare the information length of belief updating in both schemes, a measure of the distance travelled in information space that has a direct interpretation in terms of metabolic cost. We show that neural dynamics under active inference are metabolically efficient and suggest that neural representations in biological agents may evolve by approximating steepest descent in information space towards the point of optimal inference. 相似文献
5.
Accurate evaluation of Bayesian model evidence for a given data set is a fundamental problem in model development. Since evidence evaluations are usually intractable, in practice variational free energy (VFE) minimization provides an attractive alternative, as the VFE is an upper bound on negative model log-evidence (NLE). In order to improve tractability of the VFE, it is common to manipulate the constraints in the search space for the posterior distribution of the latent variables. Unfortunately, constraint manipulation may also lead to a less accurate estimate of the NLE. Thus, constraint manipulation implies an engineering trade-off between tractability and accuracy of model evidence estimation. In this paper, we develop a unifying account of constraint manipulation for variational inference in models that can be represented by a (Forney-style) factor graph, for which we identify the Bethe Free Energy as an approximation to the VFE. We derive well-known message passing algorithms from first principles, as the result of minimizing the constrained Bethe Free Energy (BFE). The proposed method supports evaluation of the BFE in factor graphs for model scoring and development of new message passing-based inference algorithms that potentially improve evidence estimation accuracy. 相似文献
6.
Stephen Fox 《Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)》2021,23(11)
Active inference theory (AIT) is a corollary of the free-energy principle, which formalizes cognition of living system’s autopoietic organization. AIT comprises specialist terminology and mathematics used in theoretical neurobiology. Yet, active inference is common practice in human organizations, such as private companies, public institutions, and not-for-profits. Active inference encompasses three interrelated types of actions, which are carried out to minimize uncertainty about how organizations will survive. The three types of action are updating work beliefs, shifting work attention, and/or changing how work is performed. Accordingly, an alternative starting point for grasping active inference, rather than trying to understand AIT specialist terminology and mathematics, is to reflect upon lived experience. In other words, grasping active inference through autoethnographic research. In this short communication paper, accessing AIT through autoethnography is explained in terms of active inference in existing organizational practice (implicit active inference), new organizational methodologies that are informed by AIT (deliberative active inference), and combining implicit and deliberative active inference. In addition, these autoethnographic options for grasping AIT are related to generative learning. 相似文献
7.
9.
10.
The universality principle of the free energy density functional and the ‘test particle' trick by Percus are combined to construct the approximate free energy density functional or its functional derivative. Information about the bulk fluid radial distribution function is integrated into the density functional approximation directly for the first time in the present methodology. The physical foundation of the present methodology also applies to the quantum density functional theory. 相似文献
11.
Stephen Fox 《Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)》2021,23(9)
In this paper, the Adaptive Calibration Model (ACM) and Active Inference Theory (AIT) are related to future-proofing startups. ACM encompasses the allocation of energy by the stress response system to alternative options for action, depending upon individuals’ life histories and changing external contexts. More broadly, within AIT, it is posited that humans survive by taking action to align their internal generative models with sensory inputs from external states. The first contribution of the paper is to address the need for future-proofing methods for startups by providing eight stress management principles based on ACM and AIT. Future-proofing methods are needed because, typically, nine out of ten startups do not survive. A second contribution is to relate ACM and AIT to startup life cycle stages. The third contribution is to provide practical examples that show the broader relevance ACM and AIT to organizational practice. These contributions go beyond previous literature concerned with entrepreneurial stress and organizational stress. In particular, rather than focusing on particular stressors, this paper is focused on the recalibrating/updating of startups’ stress responsivity patterns in relation to changes in the internal state of the startup and/or changes in the external state. Overall, the paper makes a contribution to relating physics of life constructs concerned with energy, action and ecological fitness to human organizations. 相似文献
12.
13.
14.
15.
Stephen Fox 《Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)》2021,23(2)
Active inference is a physics of life process theory of perception, action and learning that is applicable to natural and artificial agents. In this paper, active inference theory is related to different types of practice in social organization. Here, the term social organization is used to clarify that this paper does not encompass organization in biological systems. Rather, the paper addresses active inference in social organization that utilizes industrial engineering, quality management, and artificial intelligence alongside human intelligence. Social organization referred to in this paper can be in private companies, public institutions, other for-profit or not-for-profit organizations, and any combination of them. The relevance of active inference theory is explained in terms of variational free energy, prediction errors, generative models, and Markov blankets. Active inference theory is most relevant to the social organization of work that is highly repetitive. By contrast, there are more challenges involved in applying active inference theory for social organization of less repetitive endeavors such as one-of-a-kind projects. These challenges need to be addressed in order for active inference to provide a unifying framework for different types of social organization employing human and artificial intelligence. 相似文献
16.
The Barker-Henderson perturbation theory is used for a ν-dimensional fluid with square-well potential. Analytic expressions
are given for the equation of state, excess free energy per particle and internal energy. The numerical results are discussed.
A significant feature is the increase of the thermodynamic properties with increasing dimensionality. 相似文献
17.
Sujitkumar Bontapalle Upendra Natarajan 《Journal of Macromolecular Science: Physics》2013,52(7):1282-1302
A molecular model for the free energy of a confined system of diblock copolymer chains within a 2D slit with the interior surfaces having end-tethered chains is presented, based on a combined lattice and scaling theory approach. The thermodynamics of a model system, based on a constrained minimization of free energy, is explored as a function of the intermolecular energy parameters for interaction between the segments of block copolymer chains, end-tethered chains, and the surfaces. The effects of chain length and the block length ratio are investigated over a wide range of values. The results obtained are qualitative in nature; however, the model can be implemented to real systems provided appropriate parameterization of the model parameters to real systems can be performed. The phase diagrams obtained here provide ways for designing thermodynamically stable systems within the physical parametric variable space. 相似文献
18.
Decentralized partially observable Markov decision process (DEC-POMDP) models sequential decision making problems by a team of agents. Since the planning of DEC-POMDP can be interpreted as the maximum likelihood estimation for the latent variable model, DEC-POMDP can be solved by the EM algorithm. However, in EM for DEC-POMDP, the forward–backward algorithm needs to be calculated up to the infinite horizon, which impairs the computational efficiency. In this paper, we propose the Bellman EM algorithm (BEM) and the modified Bellman EM algorithm (MBEM) by introducing the forward and backward Bellman equations into EM. BEM can be more efficient than EM because BEM calculates the forward and backward Bellman equations instead of the forward–backward algorithm up to the infinite horizon. However, BEM cannot always be more efficient than EM when the size of problems is large because BEM calculates an inverse matrix. We circumvent this shortcoming in MBEM by calculating the forward and backward Bellman equations without the inverse matrix. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that the convergence of MBEM is faster than that of EM. 相似文献
19.
Zhiyuan Lin 《中国物理 B》2021,30(8):80501-080501
We build a double quantum-dot system with Coulomb coupling and aim at studying connections among the entropy production, free energy, and information flow. By utilizing concepts in stochastic thermodynamics and graph theory analysis, Clausius and nonequilibrium free energy inequalities are built to interpret local second law of thermodynamics for subsystems. A fundamental set of cycle fluxes and affinities is identified to decompose two inequalities by using Schnakenberg's network theory. Results show that the thermodynamic irreversibility has energy-related and information-related contributions. A global cycle associated with the feedback-induced information flow would pump electrons against the bias voltage, which implements a Maxwell demon. 相似文献
20.
Using the Wigner-Kirkwood expansion and bare Lennard-Jones (LJ) (12-6) potential, an effectiveLJ potential is derived, which includes the quantum effects through the expressions of the effective diameter∂(T, λ) and well-depth
(T, λ). We use theWCA perturbation theory to calculate the free energy and pressure for theLJ and effectiveLJ potentials. Simple analytic expressions are given for the reference system and the first order correction calculated. The
results are quite good at high density. The quantum effects on the free energy and pressure are also discussed. 相似文献