Framework combines symbolic expressions and black-box function evaluations for neural programming.
problem Lack of generalization performance on complex programs and large domains.
method Tree LSTMs and tree encoding for integrating symbolic expressions and function evaluations.
result Framework achieves high accuracies and better generalization to higher depth expressions.
A new method for optimizing black-box problems with constraints.
problem Optimizing black-box systems with multiple performance criteria and constraints.
method Developed a novel constrained Bayesian optimization approach based on the knowledge gradient method.
result A new acquisition function that balances optimality and feasibility.
Interpretable companion model for black-box classifiers.
problem Dilemma between interpretable and black-box models.
method Trains a companion model from data and black-box model predictions, optimizing a combination of accuracy and complexity.
result Companion model provides interpretable predictions with a slight accuracy loss for user choice.
Deep-PrAE improves rare-event simulation for black-box systems.
problem Evaluating rare safety-critical events in learning-based systems.
method Combines deep neural networks with IS to create statistically guaranteed estimations.
result Deep-PrAE provides accurate bounds on safety-critical event probabilities.
New method optimizes BO by learning search spaces from past evaluations.
problem Optimizing expensive black-box functions efficiently.
method Automatically designs BO search space from historical data.
result Significant boost in BO performance by reducing search space size.
New framework tests AVs as a black box, prioritizing rare failure modes.
problem Lack of rigorous and scalable testing methods for AVs.
method Developed a simulation testing framework that learns to identify and rank failure scenarios via adaptive importance-sampling methods.
result First independent evaluation of a full-stack commercial AV system (Comma AI's OpenPilot).
Tree-search algorithm optimizes noisy black-box functions with multi-fidelity queries.
problem Optimizing noisy functions with expensive evaluations and low-cost approximations.
method Tree-like hierarchical partitions and multi-fidelity bandit tree-search algorithm.
result Simple regret bounds for the proposed algorithm.
VIBI interprets black-box systems by selecting key features that are both brief and comprehensive.
problem Lack of concise and comprehensive explanations for black-box decision systems.
method VIBI uses the information bottleneck principle to select key features that are maximally compressed and informative.
result VIBI provides more concise and comprehensive explanations compared to existing methods.
Adapts example weights to optimize black-box metrics.
problem Optimizing metrics defined by black-box functions.
method Adaptive example weighting and iterative post-shifting.
result Improves classification performance compared to baselines.
RAAL optimizes black box function optimization with multifidelity models.
problem Time-consuming and unfeasible black box optimization.
method Resource Aware Multifidelity Active Learning (RAAL) for efficient optimization.
result RAAL optimizes black box function optimization with multifidelity models.
ECP optimizes expensive functions without knowing Lipschitz constant.
problem Optimizing expensive, non-convex functions with unknown Lipschitz constants.
method ECP minimizes evaluations by focusing on potentially optimal regions, eliminating Lipschitz constant estimation.
result Guaranteed no-regret performance and minimax-optimal regret bounds.
Unified framework for scalable black-box optimization.
problem Expensive black-box evaluations in scientific and engineering domains.
method Integrates active learning, multi-armed bandits, and distributed computing.
result Consistently outperforms state-of-the-art black-box optimizers.
Spanning attack improves black-box attacks with unlabeled data.
problem Query inefficiency in black-box attacks due to high input space dimensionality.
method Proposes spanning attack by constraining adversarial perturbations in a low-dimensional subspace via an auxiliary unlabeled dataset.
result Significantly improves query efficiency of black-box attacks.
A scalable portfolio approach speeds up Bayesian optimization for noisy functions.
problem Efficiently selecting multiple designs in parallel for noisy, expensive black-box optimization.
method A portfolio approach that balances exploration and exploitation, using a scalable allocation strategy.
result Significant speed improvements over existing methods, with similar or better performance.
A2D2E designs optimal evaluations for estimating main effects in black-box models.
problem Sensitivity to OOD evaluations and instability under feature correlation in estimating black-box model effects.
method A2D2E uses D-optimal hypercube designs to minimize main effect estimation variance.
result A2D2E outperforms existing methods, especially under high feature correlation.
Parallel BO method for multi-objective optimization with constraints.
problem Optimizing multiple objectives under constraints with expensive evaluations.
method PPESMOC, a batch method for simultaneous optimization of black-box functions.
result Empirical evidence shows PPESMOC is effective for multi-objective optimization with constraints.
Develops a method to find costly high-confidence errors in black box models.
problem Finding rare high-confidence errors missed by random sampling.
method Adversarial perturbation-guided search technique to find errors at rates greater than expected given model confidence.
result Our Adversarial Distance search discovers high-confidence errors at a rate greater than expected given model confidence.
Variational inference has become a widely used method to approximate posteriors in complex latent variables models. However, deriving a variational inference algorithm generally requires significant model-specific analysis, and these efforts can hinder and deter us from quickly developing and exploring a variety of mod…
The paper proposes a technique to speed up evolutionary algorithms by using lower-cost approximations of the objective function.
problem Evolutionary algorithms require many evaluations to solve computationally expensive black-box optimization problems.
method The paper introduces a technique to choose an appropriate approximate function cost during the execution of the optimization algorithm.
result The proposed approach can reach the same objective value in less than half the time in certain cases.
Transfer learning improves model robustness against adversarial attacks.
problem Understanding how transfer learning affects model robustness against adversarial attacks.
method Extensive empirical evaluations of white-box and black-box attacks on fine-tuned transfer learning models.
result Adversarial examples are more transferable when fine-tuning is used than when networks are trained independently.
Efficient method for generating adversarial examples with limited query budget.
problem Developing black-box adversarial attacks with limited information.
method Bayesian Optimization in a structured low-dimensional subspace.
result Significantly higher attack success rate with fewer queries.
New research shows many recent defenses against adversarial examples are ineffective against black-box attacks.
problem The robustness of recent defenses against adversarial examples is insufficient, especially against black-box attacks.
method Evaluation of nine defenses on two black-box adversarial models and six attacks on CIFAR-10 and Fashion-MNIST datasets.
result Most recent defenses provide only marginal improvements in security (<25%) compared to undefended networks. Bayesian optimization outperformed random search in machine learning hyperparameter tuning challenge.
problem Optimizing hyperparameters of machine learning models using derivative-free methods.
method Bayesian optimization vs. random search on real datasets.
result Bayesian optimization significantly outperformed random search in held-out objective functions.
A simple patch copying method reduces black-box adversarial attack queries by 81%.
problem The effectiveness of black-box adversarial attacks depends on the initialization method.
method Copying small patches from other images as initialization points.
result Reduces the number of queries required for a state-of-the-art Boundary Attack by 81%
We use Bayesian optimization to create efficient adversarial attacks with limited queries.
problem Creating adversarial examples with limited query access.
method Bayesian optimization for query-efficient adversarial attacks.
result Our method reduces query count by up to 80% compared to state-of-the-art methods.
Paper proposes ZO-NGD for more efficient black-box attacks.
problem Vulnerability of state-of-the-art DNNs to adversarial attacks.
method Zeroth-order natural gradient descent (ZO-NGD) for black-box attacks.
result ZO-NGD achieves significantly lower model query complexities.
FastSHAP speeds up Shapley value estimation for black-box models.
problem Efficiently calculating Shapley values for complex models.
method Uses a learned explainer model in a single forward pass.
result Generates high-quality explanations with significant speedup.
A new algorithm optimizes time-varying functions with non-constant evaluation times.
problem Optimizing functions that change over time with varying evaluation times.
method Proposes a novel time-varying Bayesian optimization algorithm.
result Establishes a regret bound for the proposed algorithm.
A new method for releasing AI workflows to avoid premature incorrect results.
problem Statistical challenges in releasing AI workflows with adaptive scoring.
method Wrapper that calibrates and accumulates evidence from high-scoring failures.
result Reduces premature incorrect release while still releasing on moderate evidence.
New analysis for black-box learning without gradients, improving generalization bounds.
problem Generalization error analysis for derivative-free optimization.
method Zeroth-order Stochastic Search (ZoSS) algorithm for Lipschitz and smooth losses.
result Generalization bounds independent of model dimension, batch size, and number of perturbed evaluations.
Derives an approximation algorithm for continuous submodular maximization without derivative information.
problem Maximizing a continuous submodular function with only function values and no derivative information.
method Black-box Continuous Greedy algorithm for DR-submodular functions, extended to stochastic setting.
result Achieves a (1−1/e)OPT−ε approximation guarantee with O(d/ε3) function evaluations. New method for black-box adversarial attacks using pretrained model embeddings.
problem Efficiently attacking unknown target networks with high-level semantic patterns.
method Learn a low-dimensional embedding using a pretrained model, then search within the embedding space.
result Significant reduction in the number of queries for black-box adversarial attacks.
PCTS optimizes noisy, delayed, multi-fidelity feedbacks in black-box optimization.
problem Optimizing unknown functions with noisy, delayed, and multi-fidelity feedbacks.
method ProCrastinated Tree Search (PCTS) with DUCB1 and DUCBV algorithms.
result PCTS achieves better regret bounds for delayed, noisy, and multi-fidelity feedbacks.
Bayesian Algorithm Execution uses mutual information to infer properties of black-box functions efficiently.
problem Estimating computable properties of expensive black-box functions with limited evaluations.
method Sequentially choosing queries that maximize mutual information with respect to the algorithm's output.
result InfoBAX reduces query counts by up to 500 times compared to the original algorithm.
Fairwashing occurs when machine learning models are made to appear fair through rationalization.
problem Rationalizing unfair black-box models to appear fair.
method LaundryML uses a regularized rule list enumeration algorithm to find fair rule lists approximating an unfair model.
result It is possible to systematically rationalize decisions from unfair black-box models using model and outcome explanations.
Paper advances black-box VI using flows and Monte-Carlo methods.
problem Improving automatic posterior inference in black-box VI.
method Combines normalizing flows, Monte-Carlo methods, and optimization considerations.
result Significant improvement in state-of-the-art variational inference.
DiBO uses diffusion models to optimize high-dimensional black-box functions efficiently.
problem Optimizing high-dimensional and complex black-box functions efficiently.
method DiBO iterates two stages: training a diffusion model and casting candidate selection as posterior inference.
result DiBO outperforms state-of-the-art baselines across synthetic and real-world tasks.
Efficient black-box evasion attacks against deep networks with fewer queries.
problem Optimizing targeted evasion attacks with limited query budget.
method Formalized problem, evaluated benefits of using substitute models, presented two new attack strategies.
result Attack strategies are as effective as previous techniques but require significantly fewer queries.
Sparse perturbations improve convergence in SZO methods for faster training.
problem Dependency of SZO methods on function dimensionality limits their convergence speed.
method Sparse perturbations reduce the effective dimensionality of the optimization problem.
result Sparse SZO optimization leads to faster convergence in training loss and test accuracy.
Paper tackles constrained robust optimization without gradients.
problem Constrained robust (min-max) optimization in a black-box setting.
method Integrates ZO gradient estimator with alternating projected SGD-ascent method.
result Proposed ZO-Min-Max framework converges sub-linearly under mild conditions.
PyBADS optimizes complex functions quickly and reliably.
problem Optimizing rough, noisy, and expensive functions with unknown gradients.
method Bayesian Adaptive Direct Search (BADS) algorithm.
result PyBADS performs well on both artificial and real-world problems.
Cost-aware BO minimizes function evaluations with varying costs.
problem Optimization with varying evaluation costs in expensive functions.
method Cost Apportioned Bayesian Optimization (CArBO) combining initial and cost-cooled phases.
result CArBO finds better hyperparameter configurations with the same cost budget.
A heuristic method refines search space for Bayesian optimization with low budget.
problem Efficiently optimize objective function with limited evaluation budget.
method Divide search space into promising regions to refine Bayesian optimization.
result Bayesian optimization with proposed method outperforms standard Bayesian optimization.
Efficiently optimizes boolean functions using multilinear polynomials and exponential weight updates.
problem Optimizing boolean functions over the boolean hypercube with high computational cost.
method Proposes a computationally efficient algorithm using multilinear polynomials and exponential weight updates.
result Improves computational time up to several orders of magnitude compared to state-of-the-art algorithms.
The paper explores additive explanations for non-additive models, finding that non-additive methods are more accurate.
problem Explaining non-additive models using additive methods.
method Four explanation methods: partial dependence, Shapley, distilled, and gradient-based.
result Non-additive explanations are more accurate than distilled additive explanations.
Automatically jailbreaks LLMs with black-box access.
problem Generating harmful content from black-box LLMs.
method Automated method using an attacker LLM to refine prompts.
result Generates jailbreaks for over 80% of prompts.
New method optimizes expensive simulations for complex systems.
problem Optimizing complex systems with limited expensive experiments.
method Black-box Optimization via Marginal Means (BOMM) approach.
result BOMM improves optimization performance in high dimensions.
Posterior sampling-based EI achieves sublinear regret bounds for expensive function optimization.
problem Theoretical analysis of expected improvement (EI) in Bayesian optimization.
method Randomized posterior sampling of EI.
result Achieves sublinear Bayesian cumulative regret bounds.