We present DUAL-LOCO, a communication-efficient algorithm for distributed statistical estimation. DUAL-LOCO assumes that the data is distributed according to the features rather than the samples. It requires only a single round of communication where low-dimensional random projections are used to approximate the depend…
Cluster LOCO: A model-agnostic feature importance score for interpreting cluster outputs
problem Interpreting and auditing cluster outputs
method Cluster LOCO (Leave-One-Covariate-Out)
result More reliably recovers informative features than existing methods
We propose LOCO, an algorithm for large-scale ridge regression which distributes the features across workers on a cluster. Important dependencies between variables are preserved using structured random projections which are cheap to compute and must only be communicated once. We show that LOCO obtains a solution which …
New method disentangles high-order effects in feature importance.
problem Quantifying cooperative effects in feature importance.
method Adaptive Leave One Covariate Out (LOCO) method to decompose LOCO into two-body and higher-order components.
result Decomposes LOCO into two-body and higher-order components, highlighting synergistic and redundant effects.
The paper compares LOCO and Shapley values for feature importance, highlighting their limitations and suggesting improvements.
problem Quantifying feature importance in the presence of feature correlation.
method LOCO and Shapley Values, critiquing their axioms and proposing new measures.
result Shapley values do not eliminate feature correlation, and a modified LOCO is recommended.
Paper compares feature selection methods using GCM and LOCO, showing GCM methods generally outperform LOCO.
problem Feature selection and importance estimation in model-agnostic settings.
method Comparison of feature selection methods related to GCM and LOCO under three model settings.
result GCM-related methods generally outperform LOCO under suitable regularity conditions, as shown by theoretical and empirical results.
The paper derives theoretical foundations for two common machine learning variable importance measures.
problem Understanding variable importance in machine learning problems.
method The paper derives closed-form expressions for Permute-and-Predict (PaP) and Leave-One-Covariate-Out (LOCO) methods.
result Theoretical derivations explain the behavior of PaP and LOCO under collinearity, linking them to coefficients and predictor variability.
Proposes a new method to estimate variable importance in black box models, mitigating correlation effects.
problem Correlation between covariates affects the interpretation of variable importance parameters.
method Develops a modified LOCO (Leave Out COvariates) method and uses semiparametric models for estimation.
result Shows how to estimate a modified LOCO method that mitigates correlation effects.
A new efficient test addresses limitations of knockoffs for conditional independence testing.
problem Testing conditional independence under model-X assumptions.
method Leave-One-Covariate-Out Conditional Randomization Test (LOCO-CRT)
result LOCO-CRT produces valid p-values for familywise error rate control with minimal variability. LoCo-RLHF models diverse human feedback with contextual information.
problem Heterogeneous human feedback from diverse contexts and preferences.
method Low-rank contextual preference model, PRS policy.
result LoCo-RLHF achieves tighter sub-optimality gap than existing methods.
Transformer model outperforms classical methods in childhood anemia prediction across diverse countries.
problem Generalizing childhood anemia prediction models across different countries and data scarcity.
method Transformer-based tabular foundation model compared to classical supervised methods using DHS data.
result Transformer model achieves lower Brier score and ECE in low-data settings, outperforming classical models.
New method R-LOCO improves local feature importance analysis.
problem Local attribution methods fail to accurately identify important features.
method R-LOCO segments input space into regions and applies global methods within.
result R-LOCO delivers more accurate local attributions.
iLOCO measures feature interactions without assumptions, providing statistical inference.
problem Lack of methods to statistically infer feature interactions.
method iLOCO metric and LOCO inference for distribution-free, efficient computation.
result First inferential approach to detecting feature interactions.
LoCo learns local representations without end-to-end synchronization, improving performance on complex tasks.
problem Learning local representations without end-to-end synchronization constraints.
method Overlap local blocks to increase decoder depth and allow feedback from upper to lower layers.
result LoCo closes the performance gap between local learning and end-to-end contrastive learning.
A new method for feature importance inference without data splitting.
problem Feature importance inference for machine learning models.
method Minipatch ensembles for model-agnostic, distribution-free inference.
result Asymptotic validity of confidence intervals without data splitting.
This work investigates fundamental questions related to learning features in convolutional neural networks (CNN). Empirical findings across multiple architectures such as VGG, ResNet, Inception, DenseNet and MobileNet indicate that weights near the center of a filter are larger than weights on the outside. Current regu…
We develop a general framework for distribution-free predictive inference in regression, using conformal inference. The proposed methodology allows for the construction of a prediction band for the response variable using any estimator of the regression function. The resulting prediction band preserves the consistency …
TabPFN models achieve state-of-the-art performance on tabular data tasks.
problem Lack of interpretability in TabPFN models.
method Adaptations of interpretability methods specifically designed for TabPFN, leveraging in-context learning and LOCO.
result Improved interpretability of TabPFN models through efficient computations and scalable data valuation methods.
MinShap improves feature selection accuracy and stability in complex models.
problem Challenging feature selection in unknown non-linear relationships.
method Combines Shapley values with a modified approach to feature selection.
result MinShap outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms in accuracy and stability.