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Markov blankets, information geometry and stochastic thermodynamics

Parr, T; Da Costa, L; Friston, K; (2020) Markov blankets, information geometry and stochastic thermodynamics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences , 378 (2164) , Article 20190159. 10.1098/rsta.2019.0159. Green open access

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Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between thermodynamics, information and inference. In particular, it explores the thermodynamic concomitants of belief updating, under a variational (free energy) principle for self-organization. In brief, any (weakly mixing) random dynamical system that possesses a Markov blanket-i.e. a separation of internal and external states-is equipped with an information geometry. This means that internal states parametrize a probability density over external states. Furthermore, at non-equilibrium steady-state, the flow of internal states can be construed as a gradient flow on a quantity known in statistics as Bayesian model evidence. In short, there is a natural Bayesian mechanics for any system that possesses a Markov blanket. Crucially, this means that there is an explicit link between the inference performed by internal states and their energetics-as characterized by their stochastic thermodynamics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Harmonizing energy-autonomous computing and intelligence'.

Type: Article
Title: Markov blankets, information geometry and stochastic thermodynamics
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2019.0159
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0159
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Keywords: Bayesian, Markov blanket, information geometry, thermodynamics, variational inference
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10088607
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