A quantitative and practical Bayesian framework is described for learning of mappings in feedforward networks. The framework makes possible: (1) objective comparisons between solutions using alternative network architectures

This paper reports an investigation of the relationship between learning and evolution in populations of backprop networks. The simulation environment, which has been used previously by Parisi, Nolfi and Cecconi (Parisi, Nolfi and Cecconi, 1991), consists of a two dimensional grid with a random

a network using backprop requires making many seemingly arbitrary choices such as the number ...

We investigate using gradient descent methods for learning ranking functions; we propose a simple probabilistic cost function, and we introduce RankNet, an implementation of these ideas using a neural network to model the underlying ranking function. We present test results on toy data and on data

Multiclass learning problems involve nding a de nition for an unknown function f(x) whose range is a discrete set containing k>2values (i.e., k \classes"). The de nition is acquired by studying collections of training examples of the form hx i;f(x i)i. Existing approaches to multiclass learning problems include direct application of multiclass algorithms such as the decision-tree algorithms C4.5 and CART, application of binary concept learning algorithms to learn individual binary functions for each of the k classes, and application of binary concept learning algorithms with distributed output representations. This paper compares these three approaches to a new technique in which error-correcting codes are employed as a distributed output representation. We show that these output representations improve the generalization performance of both C4.5 and backpropagation on a wide range of multiclass learning tasks. We also demonstrate that this approach is robust with respect to changes in the size of the training sample, the assignment of distributed representations to particular classes, and the application of over tting avoidance techniques such as decision-tree pruning. Finally,we show that|like the other methods|the error-correcting code technique can provide reliable class probability estimates. Taken together, these results demonstrate that error-correcting output codes provide a general-purpose method for improving the performance of inductive learning programs on multiclass problems.

Abstract. We report on an experiment where we inserted symbolic rules into a neural network during the training process. This was done to guide the learning and to help escape local minima. The rules are constructed by analysing the errors made by the network after training. This process can

"Recurrent backprop" for learning to store information over extended time intervals takes too long. The main reason is insufficient, decaying error back flow. We briefly review Hochreiter's 1991 analysis of this problem. Then we overcome it by introducing a novel, efficient method

This paper examines whether temporal difference methods for training connectionist networks, such as Suttons's TD(lambda) algorithm can be successfully applied to complex real-world problems. A number of important practical issues are identified and discussed from a general theoretical

The Bayesian model comparison framework is reviewed, and the Bayesian Occam's razor is explained. This framework can be applied to feedforward networks, making possible (1) objective comparisons between solutions using alternative network architectures; (2) objective choice of magnitude

supervised learning algorithm that is capable of learning in multi-layer networks.