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 rademacher complexity


On the sample complexity of semi-supervised multi-objective learning

Neural Information Processing Systems

In multi-objective learning (MOL), several possibly competing prediction tasks must be solved jointly by a single model. Achieving good trade-offs may require a model class G with larger capacity than what is necessary for solving the individual tasks. This, in turn, increases the statistical cost, as reflected in known MOL bounds that depend on the complexity of G. We show that this cost is unavoidable for some losses, even in an idealized semi-supervised setting, where the learner has access to the Bayes-optimal solutions for the individual tasks as well as the marginal distributions over the covariates. On the other hand, for objectives defined with Bregman losses, we prove that the complexity of G may come into play only in terms of unlabeled data. Concretely, we establish sample complexity upper bounds, showing precisely when and how unlabeled data can significantly alleviate the need for labeled data. This is achieved by a simple pseudo-labeling algorithm.


Discretization-free Multicalibration through Loss Minimization over Tree Ensembles

Neural Information Processing Systems

In recent years, multicalibration has emerged as a desirable learning objective for ensuring that a predictor is calibrated across a rich collection of overlapping subpopulations. Existing approaches typically achieve multicalibration by discretizing the predictor's output space and iteratively adjusting its output values. However, this discretization approach departs from the standard empirical risk minimization (ERM) pipeline, introduces rounding error and an additional sensitive hyperparameter, and may distort the predictor's outputs in ways that hinder downstream decision-making. In this work, we propose a discretization-free multicalibration method that directly optimizes an empirical risk objective over an ensemble of depth-two decision trees. Our ERM approach can be implemented using off-the-shelf tree ensemble learning methods such as LightGBM. Our algorithm provably achieves multicalibration, provided that the data distribution satisfies a technical condition we term as loss saturation. Across multiple datasets, our empirical evaluation shows that this condition is always met in practice. Our discretization-free algorithm consistently matches or outperforms existing multicalibration approaches-- even when evaluated using a discretization-based multicalibration metric that shares its discretization granularity with the baselines. Code to replicate the results in this work is available at https://github.com/hjenryin/


Generalization Bounds for Model-based Algorithm Configuration

Neural Information Processing Systems

Algorithm configuration, which involves selecting algorithm parameters based on sampled problem instances, is a crucial step in applying modern algorithms such as SAT solvers. Although prior work has attempted to understand the theoretical foundations of algorithm configuration, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of why practical algorithm configurators exhibit strong generalization performances in real-world scenarios. In this paper, through the lens of machine learning theory, we provide an algorithm-dependent generalization bound for the widely used model-based algorithm configurators under mild assumptions. Our approach is based on the algorithmic stability framework for generalization bounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first generalization bound that applies to a model closely approximating practical model-based algorithm configurators.


Reproducing Kernel Banach Space Models for Neural Networks with Application to Rademacher Complexity Analysis

Neural Information Processing Systems

This paper explores the use of Hermite transform based reproducing kernel Banach space methods to construct exact or un-approximated models of feedforward neural networks of arbitrary width, depth and topology, including ResNet and Transformers networks, assuming only a feedforward topology, finite energy activations and finite (spectral-) norm weights and biases. Using this model, two straightforward but surprisingly tight bounds on Rademacher complexity are derived, precisely (1) a general bound that is width-independent and scales exponentially with depth; and (2) a width-and depth-independent bound for networks with appropriately constrained (below threshold) weights and biases.


Adversarial Generalization of Unfolding (Model-based) Networks

Neural Information Processing Systems

Unfolding networks are interpretable networks emerging from iterative algorithms, incorporate prior knowledge of data structure, and are designed to solve inverse problems like compressed sensing, which deals with recovering data from noisy, missing observations. Compressed sensing finds applications in critical domains, from medical imaging to cryptography, where adversarial robustness is crucial to prevent catastrophic failures. However, a solid theoretical understanding of the performance of unfolding networks in the presence of adversarial attacks is still in its infancy. In this paper, we study the adversarial generalization of unfolding networks when perturbed with l2-norm constrained attacks, generated by the fast gradient sign method. Particularly, we choose a family of state-ofthe-art overaparameterized unfolding networks and deploy a new framework to estimate their adversarial Rademacher complexity. Given this estimate, we provide adversarial generalization error bounds for the networks under study, which are tight with respect to the attack level. To our knowledge, this is the first theoretical analysis on the adversarial generalization of unfolding networks. We further present a series of experiments on real-world data, with results corroborating our derived theory, consistently for all data. Finally, we observe that the family's overparameterization can be exploited to promote adversarial robustness, shedding light on how to efficiently robustify neural networks.


Tight Generalization Bounds for Large-Margin Halfspaces

Neural Information Processing Systems

We prove the first generalization bound for large-margin halfspaces that is asymptotically tight in the tradeoff between the margin, the fraction of training points with the given margin, the failure probability and the number of training points.


Understanding Generalization in Physics Informed Models through Affine Variety Dimensions

Neural Information Processing Systems

Physics-informed machine learning is gaining significant traction for enhancing statistical performance and sample efficiency through the integration of physical knowledge. However, current theoretical analyses often presume complete prior knowledge in non-hybrid settings, overlooking the crucial integration of observational data, and are frequently limited to linear systems, unlike the prevalent nonlinear nature of many real-world applications. To address these limitations, we introduce a unified residual form that unifies collocation and variational methods, enabling the incorporation of incomplete and complex physical constraints in hybrid learning settings. Within this formulation, we establish that the generalization performance of physics-informed regression in such hybrid settings is governed by the dimension of the affine variety associated with the physical constraint, rather than by the number of parameters. This enables a unified analysis that is applicable to both linear and nonlinear equations. We also present a method to approximate this dimension and provide experimental validation of our theoretical findings.


Optimal Rates for Generalization of Gradient Descent for Deep ReLU Classification

Neural Information Processing Systems

Recent advances have significantly improved our understanding of the generalization performance of gradient descent (GD) methods in deep neural networks. A natural and fundamental question is whether GD can achieve generalization rates comparable to the minimax optimal rates established in the kernel setting. Existing results either yield suboptimal rates of O(1/ n), or focus on networks with smooth activation functions, incurring exponential dependence on network depth L. In this work, we establish optimal generalization rates for GD with deep ReLU networks by carefully trading off optimization and generalization errors, achieving only polynomial dependence on depth. Specifically, under the assumption that the data are NTK separable from the margin γ, we prove an excess risk rate of eO(L6/(nγ2)), which aligns with the optimal SVM-type rate eO(1/(nγ2)) up to depth-dependent factors. A key technical contribution is our novel control of activation patterns near a reference model, enabling a sharper Rademacher complexity bound for deep ReLU networks trained with gradient descent.


Generalization Bound of Gradient Flow through Training Trajectory and Data-dependent Kernel

Neural Information Processing Systems

Gradient-based optimization methods have shown remarkable empirical success, yet their theoretical generalization properties remain only partially understood. In this paper, we establish a generalization bound for gradient flow that aligns with the classical Rademacher complexity bounds for kernel methods-specifically those based on the RKHS norm and kernel trace-through a data-dependent kernel called the loss path kernel (LPK).


Generalization Bound of Gradient Flow through Training Trajectory and Data-dependent Kernel

Neural Information Processing Systems

Gradient-based optimization methods have shown remarkable empirical success, yet their theoretical generalization properties remain only partially understood. In this paper, we establish a generalization bound for gradient flow that aligns with the classical Rademacher complexity bounds for kernel methods--specifically those based on the RKHS norm and kernel trace--through a data-dependent kernel called the loss path kernel (LPK).