Probabilistic operator learning: generative modeling and uncertainty quantification for foundation models of differential equations

In-context operator networks (ICON) are a class of operator learning methods based on the novel architectures of foundation models. Trained on a diverse set of datasets of initial and boundary conditions paired with corresponding solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations (ODEs and PDEs), ICON learns to map example condition-solution pairs of a given differential equation to an approximation of its solution operator. Here, we present a probabilistic framework that reveals ICON as implicitly performing Bayesian inference, where it computes the mean of the posterior predictive distribution over solution operators conditioned on the provided context, i.e., example condition-solution pairs. The formalism of random differential equations provides the probabilistic framework for describing the tasks ICON accomplishes while also providing a basis for understanding other multi-operator learning methods. This probabilistic perspective provides a basis for extending ICON to generative settings, where one can sample from the posterior predictive distribution of solution operators. The generative formulation of ICON (GenICON) captures the underlying uncertainty in the solution operator, which enables principled uncertainty quantification in the solution predictions in operator learning.