Helmholtz Machine Tutorial

In 2006 I was invited to give a workshop on Helmholtz Machines at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, by the composer, writer, and (then) Rector, Anthony Moore. The technical tutorial seems to have been cited a bit here and there over the years, and I think the model still has great beauty.

• In-depth tutorial (2006)
• Slide Presentation at Cologne Workshop (2006)
• Python code to accompany tutorial (last revised 2015)

One recent interesting example:

• Jose Miguel Ramos, Luis Sa-Couto, Andreas Wichert; "Multilevel Data Representation for Training Deep Helmholtz Machines". Neural Computation 2025; 37 (5): 1010–1033.

There has also been interest in Quantum Helmholtz Machines.

Illustration: Detail from Francisco Goya, El sueño del la razón produce monstruos (1799).