Most tasks require a person or an automated system to
reason--to reach conclusions based on available
information. The framework of probabilistic graphical
models, presented in this book, provides a general
approach for this task. The approach is model-based,
allowing interpretable models to be constructed and then
manipulated by reasoning algorithms. These models can
also be learned automatically from data, allowing the
approach to be used in cases where manually constructing
a model is difficult or even impossible. Because
uncertainty is an inescapable aspect of most real-world
applications, the book focuses on probabilistic models,
which make the uncertainty explicit and provide models
that are more faithful to reality. Probabilistic
Graphical Models discusses a variety of models, spanning
Bayesian networks, undirected Markov networks, discrete
and continuous models, and extensions to deal with
dynamical systems and relational data. For each class of
models, the text describes the three fundamental
cornerstones: representation, inference, and learning,
presenting both basic concepts and advanced
techniques.Finally, the book considers the use of the
proposed framework for causal reasoning and decision
making under uncertainty. The main text in each chapter
provides the detailed technical development of the key
ideas. Most chapters also include boxes with additional
material: skill boxes, which describe techniques; case
study boxes, which discuss empirical cases related to
the approach described in the text, including
applications in computer vision, robotics, natural
language understanding, and computational biology; and
concept boxes, which present significant concepts drawn
from the material in the chapter. Instructors (and
readers) can group chapters in various combinations,
from core topics to more technically advanced material,
to suit their particular needs. |
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