Enhancing Approximate Modular Bayesian Inference by Emulating the Conditional Posterior

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Hutchings, Grant, Rumsey, Kellin, Bingham, Derek, Huerta, Gabriel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Hutchings, Grant
Rumsey, Kellin
Bingham, Derek
Huerta, Gabriel
author_facet Hutchings, Grant
Rumsey, Kellin
Bingham, Derek
Huerta, Gabriel
contents In modular Bayesian analyses, complex models are composed of distinct modules, each representing different aspects of the data or prior information. In this context, fully Bayesian approaches can sometimes lead to undesirable feedback between modules, compromising the integrity of the inference. This paper focuses on the "cut-distribution" which prevents unwanted influence between modules by "cutting" feedback. The multiple imputation (DS) algorithm is standard practice for approximating the cut-distribution, but it can be computationally intensive, especially when the number of imputations required is large. An enhanced method is proposed, the Emulating the Conditional Posterior (ECP) algorithm, which leverages emulation to increase the number of imputations. Through numerical experiment it is demonstrated that the ECP algorithm outperforms the traditional DS approach in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, particularly when resources are constrained. It is also shown how the DS algorithm can be improved using ideas from design of experiments. This work also provides practical recommendations on algorithm choice based on the computational demands of sampling from the prior and cut-distributions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_19028
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Enhancing Approximate Modular Bayesian Inference by Emulating the Conditional Posterior
Hutchings, Grant
Rumsey, Kellin
Bingham, Derek
Huerta, Gabriel
Methodology
Computation
In modular Bayesian analyses, complex models are composed of distinct modules, each representing different aspects of the data or prior information. In this context, fully Bayesian approaches can sometimes lead to undesirable feedback between modules, compromising the integrity of the inference. This paper focuses on the "cut-distribution" which prevents unwanted influence between modules by "cutting" feedback. The multiple imputation (DS) algorithm is standard practice for approximating the cut-distribution, but it can be computationally intensive, especially when the number of imputations required is large. An enhanced method is proposed, the Emulating the Conditional Posterior (ECP) algorithm, which leverages emulation to increase the number of imputations. Through numerical experiment it is demonstrated that the ECP algorithm outperforms the traditional DS approach in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, particularly when resources are constrained. It is also shown how the DS algorithm can be improved using ideas from design of experiments. This work also provides practical recommendations on algorithm choice based on the computational demands of sampling from the prior and cut-distributions.
title Enhancing Approximate Modular Bayesian Inference by Emulating the Conditional Posterior
topic Methodology
Computation
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.19028