# Fundamental Limitation of Semantic Communications: Neural Estimation for Rate-Distortion

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.01176 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.01176/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 44 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 2 Jan 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.00667/) (2022)
- [Convex optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01946/) (2021)
- [Variational image compression with a scale hyperprior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.01436/) (2018)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks: An Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.07035/) (2017)
- [Deep Learning Enabled Semantic Communication Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10685/) (2020)
- [An Introduction to Deep Learning for the Physical Layer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.00832/) (2017)
- [Formal Limitations on the Measurement of Mutual Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.04251/) (2018)
- [Beyond Transmitting Bits: Context, Semantics, and Task-Oriented Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09353/) (2022)
- [6G Networks: Beyond Shannon Towards Semantic and Goal-Oriented Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.14844/) (2020)
- [Learning Task-Oriented Communication for Edge Inference: An Information Bottleneck Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.04170/) (2021)
- [Semantic Communication Systems for Speech Transmission](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.12605/) (2021)
- [DeepJSCC-f: Deep Joint Source-Channel Coding of Images with Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.11174/) (2019)
- [Nonlinear Transform Source-Channel Coding for Semantic Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10961/) (2021)
- [Personalized Saliency in Task-Oriented Semantic Communications: Image Transmission and Performance Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.12274/) (2022)
- [Joint Task and Data Oriented Semantic Communications: A Deep Separate Source-channel Coding Scheme](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.13580/) (2023)
- [Rate Distortion For Model Compression: From Theory To Practice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.06401/) (2018)
- [Neural Estimation of the Rate-Distortion Function With Applications to Operational Source Coding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.01612/) (2022)
- [An Indirect Rate-Distortion Characterization for Semantic Sources: General Model and the Case of Gaussian Observation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.12477/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Visual Fidelity Index for Generative Semantic Communications with Critical Information Embedding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.10405/) (2025)
- [Generative Feature Imputing -- A Technique for Error-resilient Semantic Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.17957/) (2025)
- [Adaptive Source-Channel Coding for Semantic Communications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.07958/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper studies the fundamental limit of semantic communications over the discrete memoryless channel. We consider the scenario to send a semantic source consisting of an observation state and its corresponding semantic state, both of which are recovered at the receiver. To derive the performance limitation, we adopt the semantic rate-distortion function (SRDF) to study the relationship among the minimum compression rate, observation distortion, semantic distortion, and channel capacity. For the case with unknown semantic source distribution, while only a set of the source samples is available, we propose a neural-network-based method by leveraging the generative networks to learn the semantic source distribution. Furthermore, for a special case where the semantic state is a deterministic function of the observation, we design a cascade neural network to estimate the SRDF. For the case with perfectly known semantic source distribution, we propose a general Blahut-Arimoto algorithm to effectively compute the SRDF. Finally, experimental results validate our proposed algorithms for the scenarios with ideal Gaussian semantic source and some practical datasets.