arXiv AI

Extracting Probabilistic Knowledge from Large Language Models for Bayesian Network Parameterization

The paper investigates how Large Language Models can be used to approximate domain expert priors for Bayesian Networks by extracting probabilistic knowledge about real‑world events. Experiments on eighty publicly available networks across domains such as healthcare and finance show that LLM‑derived conditional probabilities outperform random, uniform, and next‑token baselines. The authors also demonstrate that these LLM‑generated priors can refine data‑driven distributions, especially when data is scarce, and provide the first comprehensive baseline for evaluating LLM performance in probabilistic knowledge extraction.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 18

Structured Inference with Large Language Gibbs

arXiv:2606. 19264v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The knowledge encoded in large language models (LLMs) can serve as a substrate for structured reasoning over variables describing a complex world, but accessing this knowledge in a probabilistically coherent manner poses a difficult inference problem.

By Sanghyeok Choi, Henry Gouk, Esmeralda S. Whitammer
arXiv AI
Sep 4

Semantic Bayesian World Models

Semantic Bayesian World Models (SBWMs) propose a shift from static knowledge graphs to a dynamic, probabilistic fabric of beliefs that can be updated via Bayesian conditioning and influenced by actions. The approach aims to bridge the gap between crisp factual assertions and the probabilistic reasoning of foundation models and autonomous agents, enabling richer inference in scenarios such as home‑security decisions, actuarial estimates, and planning tasks. Realizing SBWMs requires new tools for belief annotation, probabilistic entailment, semantic calibration, and protocols for belief exchange among agents.

By Tommaso Soru
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 31

Joint Bayesian Inference of Graphical Structure and Parameters with a Single Generative Flow Network

The paper introduces JSP-GFN, a Generative Flow Network that jointly infers the structure and parameters of a Bayesian Network. It sequentially generates a directed acyclic graph edge by edge and then samples the corresponding conditional probability parameters once the full structure is known. Experiments on simulated and real data show that JSP‑GFN accurately approximates the joint posterior and outperforms existing methods.

By Tristan Deleu, Mizu Nishikawa-Toomey, Jithendaraa Subramanian, Esmeralda S. Whitammer, Laurent Charlin, Yoshua Bengio