Four Key Trends in Theoretical Machine Learning (2026)

Table of Links

Abstract and 1. Introduction

2. Some recent trends in theoretical ML

   2.1 Deep Learning via continuous-time controlled dynamical system

   2.2 Probabilistic modeling and inference in DL

   2.3 Deep Learning in non-Euclidean spaces

   2.4 Physics Informed ML

3. Kuramoto model

   3.1 Kuramoto models from the geometric point of view

   3.2 Hyperbolic geometry of Kuramoto ensembles

   3.3 Kuramoto models with several globally coupled sub-ensembles

4. Kuramoto models on higher-dimensional manifolds

   4.1 Non-Abelian Kuramoto models on Lie groups

   4.2 Kuramoto models on spheres

   4.3 Kuramoto models on spheres with several globally coupled sub-ensembles

   4.4 Kuramoto models as gradient flows

   4.5 Consensus algorithms on other manifolds

5. Directional statistics and swarms on manifolds for probabilistic modeling and inference on Riemannian manifolds

   5.1 Statistical models over circles and tori

   5.2 Statistical models over spheres

   5.3 Statistical models over hyperbolic spaces

   5.4 Statistical models over orthogonal groups, Grassmannians, homogeneous spaces

6. Swarms on manifolds for DL

   6.1 Training swarms on manifolds for supervised ML

   6.2 Swarms on manifolds and directional statistics in RL

   6.3 Swarms on manifolds and directional statistics for unsupervised ML

   6.4 Statistical models for the latent space

   6.5 Kuramoto models for learning (coupled) actions of Lie groups

   6.6 Grassmannian shallow and deep learning

   6.7 Ensembles of coupled oscillators in ML: Beyond Kuramoto models

7. Examples

   7.1 Wahba’s problem

   7.2 Linked robot’s arm (planar rotations)

   7.3 Linked robot’s arm (spatial rotations)

   7.4 Embedding multilayer complex networks (Learning coupled actions of Lorentz groups)

8. Conclusion and References

2 Some recent trends in theoretical ML

Our proposal on ML via swarms on manifolds builds upon the combination of four research directions which recently had a great impact on the field. Control-theoretic ML investigates new architectures of neural networks (NN’s) for Deep Learning (DL) by encoding maps into continuous-time dynamical systems, based on mathematical theories of ODE’s and optimal control. ML through probabilistic modeling and inference aims to encode uncertainties using probability measures. Geometric ML explores intrinsic geometric features of the data, embeds the instances into Riemannian manifolds and infers the curvature and symmetries hidden in data sets. Finally, Physics Informed ML leverages laws of Physics (such as conservation laws, time-space symmetries, MaxEnt principle) to design efficient and transparent ML algorithms.

The literature on each of these directions is vast and constantly growing. We do not even try to provide a comprehensive or representative (in any sense) list of references.