Bayesian network – Definition & Meaning

Definition of Bayesian network

: a probabilistic graphical model that represents random variables as nodes in a directed acyclic graph and describes each variable with a probability distribution conditioned on its parent nodes
- The diagnostic system used a Bayesian network to update the probability of each fault after a new sensor reading arrived.
- A missing arrow in the Bayes net encoded a conditional-independence assumption that made inference more efficient.

Origin & history

Bayesian networks grew from work connecting probability theory with graphical representations of dependence. Judea Pearl's 1986 paper Fusion, Propagation, and Structuring in Belief Networks and his 1988 book Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems helped establish the framework as a central method for uncertain reasoning in artificial intelligence.

Test yourself

Which of these is the meaning of Bayesian network?

Related terms

decision network a graphical model that extends a Bayesian network with decision nodes and utility or value… model the trained program that results from machine learning: a set of learned numbers plus the… inference the act of running a trained model to produce an output, such as answering a prompt or… reasoning in AI, a model's ability to solve problems that need several steps, such as math, planning, or… machine learning a branch of AI in which computers learn patterns from data instead of following rules written… decision tree a supervised machine-learning model that makes a classification or numerical prediction by…

Cite this entry

"Bayesian network." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/bayesian-network/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.