Improved forecast accuracy for energy systems through decision-focused fine-tuning.
problem Challenges in integrating forecast values into time series models for diverse and specific instances.
method Decision-focused fine-tuning within time series foundation models for dispatchable feeder optimization.
result Improvement of 9.45% in average total daily costs.
New online algorithms tackle dynamic decision-focused learning.
problem Dynamic decision-focused learning in evolving environments.
method Regularization and perturbation techniques for non-convex optimization.
result First provable guarantees for online decision-focused learning.
DFFL tackles federated learning with heterogeneous objectives and constraints.
problem Federated learning with clients having different objectives and feasible regions.
method Derived heterogeneity bounds for cost-vector distances and support-function/shape-distance terms. Lifted pointwise bounds to local-versus-federated excess-risk comparison.
result Federation is beneficial when the statistical advantage of pooling exceeds a client-specific heterogeneity penalty.
A new method for decision-focused learning using diffusion models.
problem Inability of deterministic point predictions to capture stochasticity in real-world environments.
method Proposes a diffusion-based DFL approach that trains a diffusion model to represent uncertain parameters and optimizes decisions through stochastic optimization.
result Empirically shows consistent outperformance over strong baselines in decision quality.
A new method for decision-focused learning reduces computational cost.
problem Efficiently solving combinatorial problems with uncertain parameters.
method Reframed as cost-sensitive multi-output regression, with novel loss components.
result Comparable downstream task quality with reduced computational cost.
A new approach integrates inventory prediction and routing optimization for better supply chain management.
problem Optimizing efficient route selection in supply chain management with uncertain inventory demand.
method Decision-focused learning approach using neural networks to directly integrate inventory prediction and routing optimization.
result Direct integration of inventory prediction and routing optimization leads to better supply chain decisions.
This study investigates how Decision-Focused Learning improves stock return predictions for better portfolio optimization.
problem The challenge of precise expected returns estimation in mean-variance optimization.
method Investigates Decision-Focused Learning (DFL) to adjust stock return prediction models for MVO.
result DFL tilts prediction errors by the inverse covariance matrix, leading to systematic prediction biases in portfolio optimization.
Paper uses DFL to optimize portfolio risk and outperforms conventional methods.
problem Optimizing portfolio risk and return under uncertainty.
method Decision-focused learning (DFL) to derive global minimum variance portfolio (GMVP).
result DFL-based methods consistently deliver superior decision performance in portfolio optimization.
A new learning framework reduces PV-Battery system costs by 3.6%.
problem Optimizing PV-Battery systems for cost savings with accurate forecasts.
method Decision-focused learning framework integrating optimization and prediction.
result Decision-focused method reduces average electricity costs by 3.6%.
This study explains and mitigates inflated returns and turnover in SPO-based portfolio optimization.
problem Inflated returns and excessive turnover in SPO-based portfolio optimization.
method KKT-based interpretation of portfolio decisions as ranking over adjusted scores, empirical evaluation of stabilization mechanisms.
result Realistic output constraints and portfolio-level turnover control improve SPO-based strategies.
The study analyzes how covariance estimation errors affect the global minimum-variance portfolio under heavy-tailed distributions.
problem The impact of covariance estimation errors on the global minimum-variance portfolio under heavy-tailed distributions.
method Characterization of covariance-estimation error's effect on GMVP suboptimality, derivation of regret identity and bound, application to heavy-tailed returns.
result The decision geometry of GMVP regret is invariant to a (p-1)-dimensional projection of the error matrix, with invariance to the covariance-scale direction as an exact special case.
Creating impact in real-world settings requires artificial intelligence techniques to span the full pipeline from data, to predictive models, to decisions. These components are typically approached separately: a machine learning model is first trained via a measure of predictive accuracy, and then its predictions are u…
A scalable method for training prediction models in predict-then-optimize
problem Training prediction models in the predict-then-optimize paradigm
method Decision-focused learning pipeline
result Decision quality competitive with state-of-the-art methods while reducing training time
Paper integrates LLMs into portfolio optimization to improve decision quality.
problem Suboptimal portfolio decisions due to mismatch between prediction and decision quality.
method Integrates LLMs with decision-focused learning, using attention mechanism to process asset relationships and macro variables.
result Model consistently outperforms state-of-the-art deep learning models in portfolio optimization.
The paper corrects bias in fluid approximation for better decision-making in stochastic optimization.
problem Bias introduced by using mean values in fluid approximation leads to suboptimal decisions.
method Identifying a decision-corrected point estimate that yields optimal decisions.
result A corrected point estimate exists under certain conditions and can be computed algorithmically.
Adaptive optimal transport priors improve few-shot learning robustness.
problem Limited supervision and distribution shifts in few-shot learning.
method Prototype-Guided Distributionally Robust Optimization (PG-DRO) framework.
result PG-DRO achieves stronger robust generalization in few-shot scenarios.
New PG losses improve decision optimization in misspecified models.
problem Improving decision optimization in models that are not perfectly specified.
method Introducing Perturbation Gradient (PG) losses to connect decision loss with directional derivatives and optimizing using gradient techniques.
result PG losses yield best-in-class policies asymptotically, even in misspecified settings.
Real-world applications often combine learning and optimization problems on graphs. For instance, our objective may be to cluster the graph in order to detect meaningful communities (or solve other common graph optimization problems such as facility location, maxcut, and so on). However, graphs or related attributes ar…
GoBOED optimizes experiments for specific decision-making objectives, improving downstream outcomes.
problem Reducing parameter uncertainty does not always improve decision-making in critical settings.
method Combines variational posterior surrogate and differentiable convex decision layer for gradient-based design optimization.
result GoBOED identifies designs that better align with specific decision objectives and reveals wider optimal design windows.
The paper addresses uncertainty in demand prediction for dynamic pricing.
problem Uncertainty quantification in the demand function for dynamic pricing.
method Developed a debiased approach to construct accurate confidence intervals for the demand function.
result Asymptotic normality guarantee of the debiased estimator for the demand function.
New approach optimizes decisions based on uncertainty in predictions.
problem Mismatch between prediction accuracy and decision loss in sequential design.
method Directional uncertainty-guided approach to sequential experimental design.
result Directional uncertainty-based design stops earlier and performs better.
A framework uses proxies to prioritize treatment without estimating causal effects.
problem Prioritizing treatment when causal effects are hard to estimate.
method Decision-focused framework identifying conditions for proxy usefulness.
result Proxies can recover correct effect ordering under specific conditions.
New framework identifies worst-case shifts for predictive resource allocation models.
problem Identifying harmful shifts in predictive models for resource allocation.
method Hierarchical model structure and submodular optimization for worst-case loss.
result Empirical evidence shows divergent worst-case shifts identified by different metrics.
Paper proposes SPO paradigm for better portfolio optimization in real markets.
problem Real-world trading frictions and constraints affect portfolio optimization quality.
method SPO paradigm with decision-focused training using surrogate loss and linear predictors.
result Decision-focused training improves risk-adjusted performance and robustness.
Digital Adherence Technologies (DATs) are an increasingly popular method for verifying patient adherence to many medications. We analyze data from one city served by 99DOTS, a phone-call-based DAT deployed for Tuberculosis (TB) treatment in India where nearly 3 million people are afflicted with the disease each year. T…
Proposes a method to learn adaptive ambiguity sets for robust optimization.
problem Misspecification in distributionally robust optimization (DRO).
method Learned predictive ambiguity sets (LPAS) using deep contextual models.
result Significantly improves portfolio optimization performance compared to baselines.
TaskMet learns a metric to improve model performance on unseen tasks.
problem Deep models trained on one task may struggle on another task due to conflicting objectives.
method TaskMet learns a metric in the prediction space to balance task and prediction losses.
result TaskMet achieves better performance on downstream tasks without altering the prediction model.