Bayesian Deep Learning

While deep learning has been revolutionary for machine learning, most modern deep learning models cannot represent their uncertainty nor take advantage of the well studied tools of probability theory. This has started to change following recent developments of tools and techniques combining Bayesian approaches with deep learning. The intersection of the two fields has received great interest from the community over the past few years, with the introduction of new deep learning models that take advantage of Bayesian techniques, as well as Bayesian models that incorporate deep learning elements.

In fact, the use of Bayesian techniques in deep learning can be traced back to the 1990s', in seminal works by Radford Neal, David MacKay, and Dayan et al.. These gave us tools to reason about deep models confidence, and achieved state-of-the-art performance on many tasks. However earlier tools did not adapt when new needs arose (such as scalability to big data), and were consequently forgotten. Such ideas are now being revisited in light of new advances in the field, yielding many exciting new results.

This workshop will study the advantages and disadvantages of such ideas, and will be a platform to host the recent flourish of ideas using Bayesian approaches in deep learning and using deep learning tools in Bayesian modelling. The program will include a mix of invited talks, contributed talks, and contributed posters. Also, the historic context of key developments in the field will be explained in an invited talk, followed by a tribute talk to David MacKay's work in the field. Future directions for the field will be debated in a panel discussion.