Book Image

Enhancing Deep Learning with Bayesian Inference

By : Matt Benatan, Jochem Gietema, Marian Schneider
Book Image

Enhancing Deep Learning with Bayesian Inference

By: Matt Benatan, Jochem Gietema, Marian Schneider

Overview of this book

Deep learning has an increasingly significant impact on our lives, from suggesting content to playing a key role in mission- and safety-critical applications. As the influence of these algorithms grows, so does the concern for the safety and robustness of the systems which rely on them. Simply put, typical deep learning methods do not know when they don’t know. The field of Bayesian Deep Learning contains a range of methods for approximate Bayesian inference with deep networks. These methods help to improve the robustness of deep learning systems as they tell us how confident they are in their predictions, allowing us to take more in how we incorporate model predictions within our applications. Through this book, you will be introduced to the rapidly growing field of uncertainty-aware deep learning, developing an understanding of the importance of uncertainty estimation in robust machine learning systems. You will learn about a variety of popular Bayesian Deep Learning methods, and how to implement these through practical Python examples covering a range of application scenarios. By the end of the book, you will have a good understanding of Bayesian Deep Learning and its advantages, and you will be able to develop Bayesian Deep Learning models for safer, more robust deep learning systems.
Table of Contents (11 chapters)

1.3 Understanding the limitations of deep learning

As we’ve seen, deep learning has achieved some remarkable feats, and it’s undeniable that it’s revolutionizing the way that we deal with data and predictive modeling. But deep learning’s short history also comprises darker tales: stories that bring with them crucial lessons for developing systems that are more robust, and, crucially, safer.

In this section, we’ll introduce a couple of key cases in which deep learning failed, and we will discuss how a Bayesian perspective could have helped to produce a better outcome.

1.3.1 Bias in deep learning systems

We’ll start with a textbook example of bias, a crucial problem faced by data-driven methods. This example centers around Amazon. Now a household name, the e-commerce company started out by revolutionizing the world of book retail, before becoming literally the one-stop shop for just about anything: from garden furniture to a new laptop, or even...