We improve optimization for data with varying variance.
problem Optimizing data with varying variance.
method Generalized learning and optimization frameworks for data-driven optimization.
result Asymptotic and finite sample guarantees for stochastic programs.
We consider the stochastic linear (multi-armed) contextual bandit problem with the possibility of hidden simple multi-armed bandit structure in which the rewards are independent of the contextual information. Algorithms that are designed solely for one of the regimes are known to be sub-optimal for the alternate regime…
This paper improves offline contextual bandits using distributional robustness.
problem Improving offline contextual bandits with robustness.
method Extends Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO) for offline contextual bandits, introducing a convex reformulation of Counterfactual Risk Minimization.
result Automatic calibration of asymptotic confidence intervals for policy optimization.
Paper proposes a network framework for prosumers to manage peak loads in Iran.
problem Balancing renewable prosumers' self-sufficiency with grid integration under uncertainty.
method Distributed contextual stochastic optimization (DCSO) framework with consensus-based sharing.
result Integration of prediction and optimization reduces peak loads and costs.
Paper solves stochastic contextual linear bandits using linear bandit algorithms.
problem Stochastic contextual linear bandits with unknown context distribution.
method Establishes a reduction framework to convert to linear bandit problems.
result Achieves nearly optimal regret bound of O ( d T log T ) O(d\sqrt{T\log T}) O ( d T log T ) . New algorithm optimally clusters networks with side information.
problem Improving network clustering with side information.
method Iterative clustering algorithm for Contextual Stochastic Block Model.
result Optimal performance under Contextual Symmetric Stochastic Block Model.
New loss function handles uncertain constraints in CSLO problems.
problem Handling uncertain inequality constraints in CSLO with machine learning predictions.
method Introduces SPO-RC loss and SPO-RC+ surrogate, trains on truncated datasets, corrects bias.
result SPO-RC+ effectively manages constraint uncertainty and improves performance.
New algorithm reduces contextual bandit identification to argmax calls.
problem Best-arm identification in stochastic contextual bandits.
method Instance-optimal PAC algorithm using argmax oracle calls.
result First instance-dependent PAC sample complexity for contextual bandits.
Designs a single policy for collecting data to train near-optimal policies.
problem Engineering overhead in deploying minimax procedures for stochastic linear contextual bandits.
method Designs a single stochastic policy to collect data from which a near-optimal policy can be extracted.
result The designed policy can collect data from which a near-optimal policy can be extracted.
Study on selecting between base algorithms in stochastic bandit problems.
problem Model selection in stochastic environments with contextual information.
method Developed a meta-algorithm-base algorithm abstraction with a smoothing transformation for optimal O ( T ) O(\sqrt{T}) O ( T ) guarantees. result Optimal O ( T ) O(\sqrt{T}) O ( T ) model selection guarantees for stochastic contextual bandit problems. PS framework selects best policy from library for CSO problems.
problem Policy selection in CSO with heterogeneous performance across covariate space.
method PS framework constructs library of candidate policies and learns a meta-policy to select the best one.
result PS consistently outperforms best single policy in heterogeneous CSO problems.
New method for online statistical inference in contextual bandits using SGD.
problem Online decision-making in contextual bandits with statistical inference.
method Weighted stochastic gradient descent for adaptive data collection.
result Asymptotic normality of the parameter estimator with improved efficiency.
A new algorithm tackles graph-based contextual bandits with efficient regret bounds.
problem Predicting labels on graphs with contextual bandit methods.
method Graph-based contextual bandit algorithm using optimal stochastic bandit techniques.
result Regret bounds for line graphs and trees, and improved bounds for general graphs.
Faster algorithm reduces contextual bandit regret with fewer offline regression calls.
problem Optimizing reward in contextual bandits with unknown functions.
method Designing a simple algorithm with O ( log T ) {O}(\log T) O ( log T ) offline regression calls. result Achieves statistically optimal regret with minimal offline calls.
First robust bandit algorithm for contextual bandits with sub-linear regret.
problem Vulnerability of linear contextual bandit algorithms to adversarial attacks.
method Proposes a robust bandit algorithm for stochastic linear contextual bandits under fully adaptive and omniscient attacks.
result Sub-linear regret under various attacks without requiring attack information.
Develops new optimization techniques for decision-making under uncertainty.
problem Decision-making under uncertainty with complex cost functions and nested expectations.
method Introduces Multistage Conditional Compositional Optimization (MCCO) and develops multilevel Monte Carlo techniques.
result New optimization techniques reduce scenario complexity from exponential to polynomial growth.
CO-BED optimizes experiments using Bayesian methods and information theory.
problem Optimizing experiments in a context-dependent manner.
method Formalizes contextual optimization with Bayesian experimental design, employing information-theoretic principles and black-box variational methods.
result CO-BED provides a general solution for contextual optimization problems.
CB-RL solves complex decision-making problems with contextual information and exogenous events.
problem Optimal policy in strategic decision-making problems that depend on environmental configuration and exogenous events.
method Contextual Bilevel Reinforcement Learning (CB-RL) with a stochastic Hyper Policy Gradient Descent (HPGD) algorithm.
result Demonstrated convergence and performance of the HPGD algorithm for reward shaping and tax design.
Optimizes decision-making in dueling bandits with contextual features.
problem Identifying the best arm in dueling bandits with contextual features.
method Develops algorithms for minimizing regret in stochastic contextual dueling bandits.
result Proves optimal regret bounds for contextual dueling bandits.
A framework for auto-tuning hyper-parameters in contextual bandit algorithms.
problem Auto-tuning hyper-parameters in real-time for contextual bandit algorithms.
method Proposes a Syndicated Bandits framework to learn multiple hyper-parameters dynamically.
result Achieves optimal regret bounds under certain scenarios and handles multiple contextual bandit algorithms.
Study shows how to improve contextual bandits with loss predictors.
problem Improving minimax regret in contextual bandits with loss predictors.
method Developed novel algorithmic techniques for upper bounds and lower bounds in various settings.
result Optimal regret is O ( min { T , E T 1 4 } ) \mathcal{O}(\min\{\sqrt{T}, \sqrt{\mathcal{E}}T^\frac{1}{4}\}) O ( min { T , E T 4 1 }) when E \mathcal{E} E is known, and O ( E T 1 3 ) \mathcal{O}(\sqrt{\mathcal{E}}T^\frac{1}{3}) O ( E T 3 1 ) if E \mathcal{E} E is unknown. Algorithm learns optimal arm selection in unsupervised sequential selection with contextual information.
problem Learning optimal arm selection in unsupervised sequential selection with contextual information.
method Proposes an algorithm for the contextual USS problem under the CWD property, demonstrating sub-linear regret.
result Demonstrates sub-linear regret for the proposed algorithm.
Paper studies CLO with partial feedback, improving decision-making in uncertain contexts.
problem Improving decision-making in contexts with uncertain cost coefficients using partial feedback.
method Unified class of offline learning algorithms for CLO with different types of feedback, using IERM framework.
result Fast-rate regret bound for IERM with partial feedback and misspecified model classes.
New algorithm for fair ranking in contextual bandits with concave rewards.
problem Fair ranking in recommendation systems.
method Geometric interpretation of CBCR as optimization, Frank-Wolfe analyses.
result First algorithm with provably vanishing regret for CBCR.
New algorithm reduces regret from sqrt(T) to polylog(T) in stochastic contextual linear bandits.
problem Achieving logarithmic regret in stochastic contextual linear bandits.
method Low Regret Stochastic Contextual Bandits ( exttt{LR-SCB}) algorithm, exploiting stochastic contexts and parameter estimation.
result Logarithmic regret (polylog(T)) achieved, improving over sqrt(T) lower bound.
Study efficient policy value estimation with sublinear samples.
problem Estimating optimal policy value in stochastic disjoint linear bandits.
method Sublinear sample estimation of optimal policy value.
result Achieves near optimal estimation error with sublinear samples.
Study minimax-optimal rates for offline decision-making with function approximation.
problem Statistical complexity of offline decision-making with function approximation.
method Near minimax-optimal rates for stochastic contextual bandits and Markov decision processes, using pseudo-dimension and behavior policy.
result Established performance limits and new characterization of behavior policy.
Paper improves SLCB regret bound for bounded noise.
problem Stochastic linear contextual bandits with bounded noise.
method Set-membership estimation (SME) and optimism in the face of uncertainty (OFU).
result Improved regret bound of O ( log T ) O(\log T) O ( log T ) . Study on adaptivity constraints in linear contextual bandits with optimal design.
problem Impact of adaptivity constraints on linear contextual bandits.
method Two models of limited adaptivity: batch learning and rare policy switches. Proposed distributional optimal design.
result Achieves minimax-optimal regret with optimal number of policy switches and batches.
NeuralUCB tackles contextual bandits with neural networks and UCB for near-optimal regret.
problem Stochastic contextual bandit problem with unknown bounded reward function.
method NeuralUCB uses neural networks and UCB for efficient exploration.
result Achieves i l d e O ( T ) ilde O(\sqrt{T}) i l d e O ( T ) regret under standard assumptions. We consider the problem of contextual bandits with stochastic experts, which is a variation of the traditional stochastic contextual bandit with experts problem. In our problem setting, we assume access to a class of stochastic experts, where each expert is a conditional distribution over the arms given a context. We p…
A collaborative algorithm reduces regret in federated linear contextual bandits.
problem Optimizing decision-making in federated learning with heterogeneous data.
method Fed-PE algorithm, leveraging geometric structure of rewards, multi-client G-optimal design.
result Achieves near-optimal regrets with logarithmic communication costs.
Optimal algorithm for maximizing rewards in contextual bandits with resource constraints.
problem Maximizing rewards in contextual bandits with resource constraints.
method Proposed a universal and optimal algorithmic framework for CBwK by reducing it to online regression.
result Established the optimality of the proposed algorithm for various function classes.
We introduce algorithms for online, full-information prediction that are competitive with contextual tree experts of unknown complexity, in both probabilistic and adversarial settings. We show that by incorporating a probabilistic framework of structural risk minimization into existing adaptive algorithms, we can robus…
Paper proposes efficient offline neural bandit method.
problem Offline policy learning with neural networks.
method Provable efficient offline contextual bandit with neural network function approximation.
result Method provably generalizes over unseen contexts.
Algorithm minimizes regret in dueling bandits with contextualized utilities.
problem Minimizing regret in dueling bandits with context-dependent utilities.
method Proposes CoLSTIM algorithm based on perturbed utility estimates.
result Achieves regret of order i l d e O ( d T ) ilde O(\sqrt{dT}) i l d e O ( d T ) . New algorithms minimize regret in both adversarial and stochastic contexts.
problem Minimizing regret in linear contextual bandits.
method Best-of-both-worlds algorithms using FTRL with Shannon entropy regularizer.
result Achieves near-optimal regret bounds in both adversarial and stochastic regimes.
Study wSAA for contextual decisions, improving uncertainty quantification under computational constraints.
problem Uncertainty quantification limitations in wSAA for contextual stochastic optimization.
method Establish central limit theorems and asymptotic-normality-based confidence intervals for optimal costs.
result Over-optimizing can mitigate misspecification and preserve asymptotic normality, albeit at a slower convergence rate.
New algorithms minimize simple and cumulative regret in contextual bandits.
problem Minimizing simple and cumulative regret in contextual bandit settings.
method Proposed new algorithms using conformal arm sets (CASs).
result Near-optimal minimax guarantees for simple regret and state-of-the-art guarantees for cumulative regret.
New algorithm for contextual bandits with linear constraints using regression.
problem Contextual bandits with packing and covering constraints.
method Modular Lagrangian approach via regression.
result First vanishing-regret guarantees for CBwLC (or CBwK).
Contextual information helps identify the best arm more efficiently.
problem Best arm identification with contextual covariate information.
method Proposed a context-aware version of the 'Track-and-Stop' strategy.
result Expected number of arm draws matches lower bound asymptotically.
NeuralRBMLE tackles explore-exploit trade-offs in contextual bandits with neural networks.
problem Stochastic contextual bandit problem with general bounded reward functions.
method Reward-biased maximum likelihood estimation with neural networks to enforce exploration.
result Both NeuralRBMLE variants achieve O ~ ( T ) \widetilde{\mathcal{O}}(\sqrt{T}) O ( T ) regret. Improved Thompson Sampling for high-dimensional sparse bandits.
problem Stochastic linear contextual bandits with high-dimensional features.
method Thompson Sampling with spike-and-slab priors and variational inference.
result Nearly optimal upper bound on expected cumulative regret.
New algorithm improves learning efficiency in multi-task contextual bandits.
problem Improving learning efficiency in multi-task contextual bandits.
method Alternating projected gradient descent (GD) and minimization estimator for low-rank feature matrix recovery.
result Proved regret bound for multi-task learning algorithm.
New algorithm reduces pricing error by a factor of T^2/3.
problem Optimal pricing under non-Lipschitz demand with unknown jumps and atoms.
method Conservative-Markdown Redirect-UCB Pricing, combining estimation, probing, and redirection.
result Achieves optimal regret of O(T^2/3), matching lower bounds.
New algorithms protect user data while optimizing personalized decisions.
problem Personalized decision-making with private user data.
method Developed LDP algorithms for stochastic generalized linear bandits using SGD and OLS.
result Achieved the same regret bound as non-privacy settings with LDP.
A new framework tunes hyperparameters in real-time for contextual bandits.
problem Optimizing hyperparameters for contextual bandits in real-time.
method CDT (Continuous Dynamic Tuning) framework using Zooming TS algorithm.
result Achieves sublinear regret and performs better than existing methods.
BanditLP optimizes personalized recommendations for large-scale systems.
problem Optimizing personalized recommendations for large-scale systems with constraints.
method Unified neural Thompson Sampling for learning and large-scale linear programming for action selection.
result Consistent gains over strong baselines in experiments and business win in LinkedIn's email marketing system.