Learning Management
Gradient-Variation Online Learning under Generalized Smoothness
Gradient-variation online learning aims to achieve regret guarantees that scale with variations in the gradients of online functions, which is crucial for attaining fast convergence in games and robustness in stochastic o ptimization, hence receiving increased attention. Existing results often req uire the smoothness condition by imposing a fixed bound on gradient Lipschitzness, w hich may be unrealistic in practice. Recent efforts in neural network optim ization suggest a generalized smoothness condition, allowing smoothness to correlate with gradient norms. In this paper, we systematically study gradient-var iation online learning under generalized smoothness. We extend the classic optimi stic mirror descent algorithm to derive gradient-variation regret by analyzin g stability over the optimization trajectory and exploiting smoothness locally. Th en, we explore universal online learning, designing a single algorithm with the optimal gradient-va riation regrets for convex and strongly convex functions simultane ously, without requiring prior knowledge of curvature. This algorithm adopts a tw o-layer structure with a meta-algorithm running over a group of base-learners . To ensure favorable guarantees, we design a new Lipschitz-adaptive meta-a lgorithm, capable of handling potentially unbounded gradients while ensuring a second-order bound to effectively ensemble the base-learners. Finally, we provi de the applications for fast-rate convergence in games and stochastic extended adv ersarial optimization.
Online Learning in the Random Order Model
Bernasconi, Martino, Celli, Andrea, Colini-Baldeschi, Riccardo, Fusco, Federico, Leonardi, Stefano, Russo, Matteo
In the random-order model for online learning, the sequence of losses is chosen upfront by an adversary and presented to the learner after a random permutation. Any random-order input is \emph{asymptotically} equivalent to a stochastic i.i.d. one, but, for finite times, it may exhibit significant {\em non-stationarity}, which can hinder the performance of stochastic learning algorithms. While algorithms for adversarial inputs naturally maintain their regret guarantees in random order, simple no-regret algorithms exist for the stochastic model that fail against random-order instances. In this paper, we propose a general template to adapt stochastic learning algorithms to the random-order model without substantially affecting their regret guarantees. This allows us to recover improved regret bounds for prediction with delays, online learning with constraints, and bandits with switching costs. Finally, we investigate online classification and prove that, in random order, learnability is characterized by the VC dimension rather than the Littlestone dimension, thus providing a further separation from the general adversarial model.