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Controlling False Discovery in Arbitrarily Structured Hypothesis Spaces via Reproducing Kernels
Perets, Binyamin, Mannor, Shie
Large-scale hypothesis testing is central to modern science, where controlling the False Discovery Rate (FDR) has become the standard approach to managing false positives across many simultaneous tests. Hypotheses rarely exist in isolation; they often exhibit structure through proximity, connectivity, or hierarchy. This structure represents both a challenge and an opportunity: while classical methods treat these dependencies as obstacles requiring conservative correction, leveraging them can substantially increase discovery power. Here, we reframe structured FDR control as a regularized learning problem. By optimizing within a suitable Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS), we introduce a framework that unifies continuous domains, graphs, and hierarchies under a single algorithm through kernel choice alone. This formulation enables smooth solutions in place of the piecewise-constant fits of prior methods, principled likelihood-based hyperparameter selection rather than heuristic tuning, and inference at unobserved locations which in turn supports sample-efficient experimental design. Building on this estimator, we provide two decision rules which we prove to control the FDR. We validate our method on two sources: spatial locations derived from high-dimensional real-world datasets, and a differential gene expression task utilizing protein-protein interaction graphs.
The Complexity of Bayesian Network Learning: Revisiting the Superstructure (Full Version) Anonymous Author(s) Affiliation Address email
We investigate the parameterized complexity of Bayesian Network Structure Learn-1 ing (BNSL), a classical problem that has received significant attention in empirical2 but also purely theoretical studies. We follow up on previous works that have3 analyzed the complexity of BNSL w.r.t. the so-called superstructure of the input.4 While known results imply that BNSL is unlikely to be fixed-parameter tractable5 even when parameterized by the size of a vertex cover in the superstructure, here we6 show that a different kind of parameterization--notably by the size of a feedback7 edge set--yields fixed-parameter tractability. We proceed by showing that this8 result can be strengthened to a localized version of the feedback edge set, and9 provide corresponding lower bounds that complement previous results to provide a10 complexity classification of BNSL w.r.t.
GRANITE: A Generalized Regional Framework for Identifying Agreement in Feature-Based Explanations
Herbinger, Julia, Laberge, Gabriel, Muschalik, Maximilian, Pequignot, Yann, Wright, Marvin N., Fumagalli, Fabian
Feature-based explanation methods aim to quantify how features influence the model's behavior, either locally or globally, but different methods often disagree, producing conflicting explanations. This disagreement arises primarily from two sources: how feature interactions are handled and how feature dependencies are incorporated. We propose GRANITE, a generalized regional explanation framework that partitions the feature space into regions where interaction and distribution influences are minimized. This approach aligns different explanation methods, yielding more consistent and interpretable explanations. GRANITE unifies existing regional approaches, extends them to feature groups, and introduces a recursive partitioning algorithm to estimate such regions. We demonstrate its effectiveness on real-world datasets, providing a practical tool for consistent and interpretable feature explanations.
Tessellation Localized Transfer learning for nonparametric regression
Halconruy, Hรฉlรจne, Bobbia, Benjamin, Lejamtel, Paul
Transfer learning aims to improve performance on a target task by leveraging information from related source tasks. We propose a nonparametric regression transfer learning framework that explicitly models heterogeneity in the source-target relationship. Our approach relies on a local transfer assumption: the covariate space is partitioned into finitely many cells such that, within each cell, the target regression function can be expressed as a low-complexity transformation of the source regression function. This localized structure enables effective transfer where similarity is present while limiting negative transfer elsewhere. We introduce estimators that jointly learn the local transfer functions and the target regression, together with fully data-driven procedures that adapt to unknown partition structure and transfer strength. We establish sharp minimax rates for target regression estimation, showing that local transfer can mitigate the curse of dimensionality by exploiting reduced functional complexity. Our theoretical guarantees take the form of oracle inequalities that decompose excess risk into estimation and approximation terms, ensuring robustness to model misspecification. Numerical experiments illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach.
Towards Continuous Assurance with Formal Verification and Assurance Cases
Abeywickrama, Dhaminda B., Fisher, Michael, Wheeler, Frederic, Dennis, Louise
Autonomous systems must sustain justified confidence in their correctness and safety across their operational lifecycle-from design and deployment through post-deployment evolution. Traditional assurance methods often separate development-time assurance from runtime assurance, yielding fragmented arguments that cannot adapt to runtime changes or system updates - a significant challenge for assured autonomy. Towards addressing this, we propose a unified Continuous Assurance Framework that integrates design-time, runtime, and evolution-time assurance within a traceable, model-driven workflow as a step towards assured autonomy. In this paper, we specifically instantiate the design-time phase of the framework using two formal verification methods: RoboChart for functional correctness and PRISM for probabilistic risk analysis. We also propose a model-driven transformation pipeline, implemented as an Eclipse plugin, that automatically regenerates structured assurance arguments whenever formal specifications or their verification results change, thereby ensuring traceability. We demonstrate our approach on a nuclear inspection robot scenario, and discuss its alignment with the Trilateral AI Principles, reflecting regulator-endorsed best practices.