<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">We invite researchers in machine learning and statistics to participate in the:<br><br><div><span class="gmail-il">1st</span> <span class="gmail-il">Symposium</span> on <span class="gmail-il">Advances</span> in <span class="gmail-il">Approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">Inference</span></div><div>Sunday, December 2, 2018<br>Le 1000 Conference Center<br>1000 Rue de la Gauchetière Ouest<br>Montréal, QC H3B 0A2, Canada<br><a href="http://www.approximateinference.org/" target="_blank">www.approximateinference.org</a><div><div>Submission deadline: <b>19 October <span class="gmail-il">2018</span></b><br><b><br>1. Registration</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Registration is now open:</div><div><a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1st-symposium-on-advances-in-approximate-bayesian-inference-aabi-2018-tickets-50291872344">https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1st-symposium-on-advances-in-approximate-bayesian-inference-aabi-2018-tickets-50291872344</a><br></div><div><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline">Registration is free but will be limited. More slots may become available as we free up the reserved slots for authors of the accepted papers. If you are unable to register, feel free to sign up on the <a href="http://waiting list">waiting list</a>. We will contact you if more slots become available.<b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>2. Call for Participation</b></div><div><br></div><div>We invite researchers to submit their recent work on the development, analysis, or application of <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span>. A submission should take the form of an extended abstract of 2-4 pages in PDF format using the PMLR one-column style [ <a href="http://approximateinference.org/pmlr/aabi_template.zip" target="_blank">http://approximateinference.org/pmlr/aabi_template.zip</a> ]. For questions and troubleshooting, visit CTAN [ <a href="https://ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/jmlr" target="_blank">https://ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/latex/contrib/jmlr</a> ]. Author names do not need to be anonymized and references may extend as far as needed beyond the <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_84 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_spell gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-ContextualSpelling gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-multiReplace" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-84" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">4 page</span> upper limit. If authors' research has previously appeared in a journal, workshop, or conference (including the NIPS <span class="gmail-il">2018</span> conference), their <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span> submission should extend that previous work. Submissions may include a supplement/appendix, but reviewers are not responsible for reading any supplementary material.<br><br>All submissions will be reviewed by at least three reviewers from the field. Accepted submissions will be accepted <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_78 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_gramm gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-Grammar gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-multiReplace" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-78" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">for</span> presentation only. The authors of selected submissions will be invited to publish their paper in a PMLR volume. We aim to keep a general inclusive nature of the <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span> for presentations. However, we will only invite the top-rated accepted papers to be published through PMLR.<br><br>Papers should be submitted by 19 October through <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_64 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_spell gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-ContextualSpelling" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-64" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">easychair</span> [ <a href="https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=aabi2018" target="_blank">https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=aabi2018</a> ]. Final versions of the <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span> submissions are due by 1 <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_66 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_gramm gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-Punctuation gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-only-del gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-replaceWithoutSep" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-66" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">December</span> and will be posted on the <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span> website.</div><div><br>If you have any questions, please contact us at <a href="mailto:aabisymposium2018@gmail.com" target="_blank">aabisymposium2018@gmail.com</a>.<br><b><br>3. <span class="gmail-il">Symposium</span> Overview</b></div><div><b><br></b>Probabilistic <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_71 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_spell gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-ContextualSpelling gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-multiReplace" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-71" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">modeling</span> is a useful tool to analyze and understand real-world data. Central to the success of <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_72 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_spell gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-ContextualSpelling gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-multiReplace" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-72" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">modeling</span> is <span class="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_ gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_70 gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr-alert gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_gramm gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_inline_cards gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-gr_run_anim gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-Grammar gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-only-ins gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-doubleReplace gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-replaceWithoutSep" id="gmail-m_-1279151526134930856gmail-m_-4650412976844826611gmail-70" style="display:inline;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;background-repeat:no-repeat;color:inherit;font-size:inherit">posterior </span><span class="gmail-il">inference</span>, for which <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> algorithms are typically needed in most problems of interest. The two pillars of <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> are variational and Monte Carlo methods. In the recent years, there have been numerous <span class="gmail-il">advances</span> in both methods, which have enabled <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> in increasingly challenging scenarios involving complex probabilistic models and large datasets.<br><br>In this <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span>, besides recent <span class="gmail-il">advances</span> in <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span>, we will discuss the impact of <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span>, connecting <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> methods with other fields. In particular, we encourage submissions that relate <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> to the fields of reinforcement learning, causal <span class="gmail-il">inference</span>, decision processes, <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span>compression, or differential privacy, among others. We also encourage submissions that contribute to connecting different <span class="gmail-il">approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> methods, such as variational <span class="gmail-il">inference</span> and Monte Carlo.<br><br>This <span class="gmail-il">symposium</span> can be seen as a continuation of previous workshops at NIPS:<br>+ NIPS 2017 Workshop: <span class="gmail-il">Advances</span> in <span class="gmail-il">Approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">Inference</span><br>+ NIPS 2016 Workshop: <span class="gmail-il">Advances</span> in <span class="gmail-il">Approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">Inference</span><br>+ NIPS 2015 Workshop: <span class="gmail-il">Advances</span> in <span class="gmail-il">Approximate</span> <span class="gmail-il">Bayesian</span> <span class="gmail-il">Inference</span><br>+ NIPS 2014 Workshop: <span class="gmail-il">Advances</span> in Variational <span class="gmail-il">Inference</span><br><b><br>4. Key Dates</b></div><div><b><br></b>Paper submission: <b>19 October <span class="gmail-il">2018</span> (11:55pm GMT)</b><br>Acceptance notification: 13 November <span class="gmail-il">2018</span><br>Final paper submission: 1 December <span class="gmail-il">2018</span><br><br><br><span class="gmail-il">Symposium</span> organizers:<br>Cheng Zhang (Microsoft Research)<br>Dawen Liang (Netflix)<br>Francisco Ruiz (University of Cambridge / Columbia University)<br>Thang Bui (University of Sydney)<br><br>Advisory committee:<br>Christian Robert (Université Paris Dauphine / University of Warwick)<br>David Blei (Columbia University)<br>Dustin Tran (Google Brain / Columbia University)<br>James McInerney (Spotify)<br>Stephan Mandt (Disney Research)</div></div></div></div></div>