LES optimizes designs by sampling descent sequences, achieving strong sample efficiency.
problem Optimizing large, complex design spaces is infeasible and unnecessary.
method LES uses Bayesian optimization to target solutions reachable by iterative optimizers.
result LES achieves strong sample efficiency compared to existing methods.
New method escapes local optima in neural architecture optimization.
problem Escaping local optima in neural architecture optimization.
method Signed neural splitting in steepest descent framework.
result Escapes local optima, leading to better performance.
We provide the first convergence analysis of local gradient descent for minimizing the average of smooth and convex but otherwise arbitrary functions. Problems of this form and local gradient descent as a solution method are of importance in federated learning, where each function is based on private data stored by a u…
Adaptive methods improve gradient descent and proximal gradient for convex optimization.
problem Improving efficiency of gradient descent and proximal gradient methods.
method Adaptive versions of GD and ProxGD using local curvature information.
result Proved convergence with local Lipschitz gradient assumptions.
Local Gradient Descent with local steps converges to the centralized model in the interpolation regime.
problem Understanding the implicit bias of Local Gradient Descent in the interpolation regime.
method Analyzing the implicit bias of Local Gradient Descent for classification tasks with linearly separable data.
result The aggregated global model from Local-GD converges exactly to the centralized model in the interpolation regime.
Paper proposes a pre-conditioning method to speed up gradient descent in multi-agent optimization.
problem Speed up convergence of gradient descent in multi-agent optimization problems.
method Iterative pre-conditioning approach to mitigate the effect of problem conditioning.
result Significant improvement in convergence speed of gradient descent method.
New adaptive step-size method for convex optimization without tuning.
problem Optimizing convex functions efficiently with stochastic gradients.
method Adapted Adaptive Gradient Descent Without Descent to stochastic setting.
result Stochastic gradient descent converges under various assumptions.
We develop a more efficient NGD method for structured parameters.
problem Computational challenges in NGD for structured parameter spaces.
method Local-parameter coordinates to simplify Fisher-matrix computations.
result New structured second-order algorithms and learning methods.
Paper proposes a pre-conditioning technique to speed up gradient-descent convergence in distributed linear least-squares problems.
problem Expediting convergence of gradient-descent method for ill-conditioned distributed linear least-squares problems.
method Iterative pre-conditioning technique to improve convergence rate of gradient-descent method.
result Pre-conditioned gradient-descent achieves superlinear convergence for unique solutions and improved linear convergence otherwise.
Preconditioned non-convex gradient descent improves noisy matrix estimation.
problem Estimating low-rank matrices from noisy measurements.
method Preconditioned non-convex gradient descent for noisy measurements.
result Preconditioned method converges to minimax optimal estimate at a linear rate.
In this paper, we propose a simple, fast and easy to implement algorithm LOSSGRAD (locally optimal step-size in gradient descent), which automatically modifies the step-size in gradient descent during neural networks training. Given a function f, a point x, and the gradient ∇xf of f, we aim to find the s…
Analytical method finds deeper optima in two-layer ReLU networks.
problem Training two-layer ReLU networks with analytical methods.
method Analytically finding critical points of the loss function for one layer while keeping the other fixed.
result Significantly smaller training loss values on real datasets compared to gradient descent methods.
Accelerates ERM problems with LPI-GD and improved oracle complexity.
problem Empirical Risk Minimization (ERM) problems with strong convexity and smoothness.
method Local Polynomial Interpolation-based Gradient Descent (LPI-GD) and accelerated methods.
result Oracle complexity improved to $ ilde{O}\left(\sqrtσ m^d \log(1/\varepsilon)
ight)$.
We establish a structure theorem for the integral points on moduli of special linear rank two local systems over surfaces, using mapping class group descent and boundedness results for systoles of local systems.
KSD Descent uses KSD to sample from a target distribution efficiently.
problem Sampling from complex target distributions efficiently.
method Wasserstein gradient flow of KSD, using L-BFGS optimization.
result KSD Descent can sample from a target distribution using a set of particles.
We prove the local convergence to minima and estimates on the rate of convergence for the stochastic gradient descent method in the case of not necessarily globally convex nor contracting objective functions. In particular, the results are applicable to simple objective functions arising in machine learning.
A new method compresses large datasets for gradient descent algorithms efficiently.
problem Efficiently compress large-scale datasets for gradient descent algorithms.
method Proposes a novel sequential coreset framework based on gradient descent locality.
result Significantly reduces computational complexity and running time.
We present a strikingly simple proof that two rules are sufficient to automate gradient descent: 1) don't increase the stepsize too fast and 2) don't overstep the local curvature. No need for functional values, no line search, no information about the function except for the gradients. By following these rules, you get…
New method improves convergence in federated learning for nonconvex problems.
problem Optimizing global objective in distributed learning with non-i.i.d. data.
method Generalized local stochastic and full gradient descent with periodic averaging.
result Demonstrates convergence rates for nonconvex federated optimization.
Cyclic coordinate descent identifies models in finite time and converges linearly.
problem Model identification in composite nonsmooth optimization problems.
method Cyclic coordinate descent for a wide class of functions.
result Explicit local linear convergence rates for coordinate descent.
FP uses random projections to train networks without feedback, achieving comparable performance to backpropagation.
problem Training neural networks without feedback from downstream layers.
method Forward Projection (FP) method that uses randomised nonlinear projections and closed-form regression.
result FP achieves comparable generalisation to backpropagation methods with a single forward pass, offering significant speedup.
Gradient descent fails to train two-layer ReLU networks, leading to poor performance.
problem Gradient descent training of two-layer ReLU networks initialized by He et al. (2015) fails to find optimal solutions.
method Gradient descent on a least-squares loss for training two-layer (Leaky)ReLU networks.
result Gradient descent only finds bad local minima, leading to linear regression for non-linear target functions.
We study the implicit bias of gradient descent methods in solving a binary classification problem over a linearly separable dataset. The classifier is described by a nonlinear ReLU model and the objective function adopts the exponential loss function. We first characterize the landscape of the loss function and show th…
New analysis shows GMD can converge linearly under PL-like conditions.
problem Establishing linear convergence for generalized mirror descent.
method PL-based analysis for time-dependent mirrors, Taylor-series approach for stochastic GMD.
result Linear convergence of stochastic GMD under PL-like conditions.
ECD algorithm speeds up non-convex optimization, offering quantum and stochastic enhancements.
problem Non-convex optimization challenges in machine learning.
method Energy Conserving Descent (ECD) algorithm, stochastic ECD dynamics (sECD), quantum ECD Hamiltonian (qECD).
result ECD and its quantum version achieve exponential speedup over gradient descent.
Study local convergence of GDA for training GANs with kernel-based discriminators.
problem Analyzing the local dynamics of GDA for GANs with kernel-based discriminators.
method Linearization of a non-linear dynamical system, under an isolated points model assumption.
result Showed phase transitions indicating convergence, oscillation, or divergence of GDA.
Recently several methods were proposed for sparse optimization which make careful use of second-order information [10, 28, 16, 3] to improve local convergence rates. These methods construct a composite quadratic approximation using Hessian information, optimize this approximation using a first-order method, such as coo…
New algorithm corrects bias in LDP-released data for better analysis.
problem Bias in data released under Local Differential Privacy (LDP).
method Inverse Weierstrass Private Stochastic Gradient Descent (IWP-SGD).
result Converges to true population risk minimizer at O(1/n) rate. Paper develops a new local convexity condition for non-isolated minima in non-convex optimization.
problem Lack of theory for non-isolated minima in non-convex optimization.
method Formulates a new local convexity condition and studies SGD convergence under this condition.
result Shows SGD can converge locally under the new condition.
This paper accelerates distributed convex optimization by mitigating ill-conditioning issues.
problem Distributed convex optimization with ill-conditioned aggregate cost functions.
method Iterative pre-conditioning technique to improve convergence rate and stability.
result The proposed algorithm converges linearly with improved convergence rate and superlinearly under certain conditions.
Optimizers find approximate global minima in non-convex problems.
problem Understanding why local methods solve non-convex optimization problems.
method Formalizing the hypothesis that many local minima are approximately global minima.
result Most local minima of practical non-convex objectives are approximately global minima.
Paper proposes a federated learning method for quantile inference with local differential privacy.
problem Federated learning of quantile inference under local differential privacy constraints.
method Local stochastic gradient descent with randomized mechanism for privacy and efficiency.
result Asymptotic normality and functional central limit theorem for the proposed estimator.
Gradient method converges locally linearly for overparameterized Gaussian mixtures.
problem Learning Gaussian mixtures under overparameterization.
method Gradient-based method alternating short descent steps and long Polyak steps.
result Gradient method converges locally linearly to minimizers.
In this paper, we study the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) method for the nonconvex nonsmooth optimization, and propose an accelerated SGD method by combining the variance reduction technique with Nesterov's extrapolation technique. Moreover, based on the local error bound condition, we establish the linear converge…
Hybridizes CEM and gradient descent for efficient model-predictive control.
problem Efficiently planning optimal action sequences in high-dimensional spaces.
method Interleaves Cross-Entropy Method (CEM) and gradient descent steps.
result Faster convergence and avoidance of local optima compared to CEM.
Gradient descent converges linearly for overparameterized linear networks.
problem Convergence of gradient descent for overparameterized neural networks.
method Local Polyak-Lojasiewicz and Descent Lemma for overparameterized linear models.
result Gradient descent achieves linear convergence for two-layer linear networks under relaxed assumptions.
Gradient descent learns useful features even in the NTK regime.
problem The ability of neural networks to learn useful features.
method Local convergence analysis of gradient descent with regularization.
result Gradient descent can capture ground-truth directions for feature learning even after the loss threshold is reached.
SGD and stochastic gradient descent converge at optimal rates for certain non-convex functions.
problem Optimal convergence rates for non-convex functions under gradient noise.
method Geometric interpretation of the PL-condition to analyze convergence rates.
result Convergence rates of SGD and stochastic gradient descent match those of strongly convex quadratics.
Study of SGD with state-dependent noise, improving escape from local minima.
problem Understanding and improving the dynamics of SGD in non-convex optimization.
method Formal study on SGD with state-dependent noise, proposing power-law dynamic with state-dependent diffusion.
result Power-law dynamic can escape from sharp minima exponentially faster than flat minima.
Unified analysis of efficient local training methods for distributed variational inequalities.
problem Efficient distributed/federated learning for variational inequality problems.
method Unified convergence analysis of communication-efficient local training methods.
result First local gradient descent-accent algorithms with improved communication complexity.
We address the issue of speeding up the training of convolutional neural networks by studying a distributed method adapted to stochastic gradient descent. Our parallel optimization setup uses several threads, each applying individual gradient descents on a local variable. We propose a new way of sharing information bet…
NGD models have higher effective dimension than SGD models.
problem Measuring model complexity accurately.
method Comparison of NGD and SGD models using effective dimension measures.
result NGD models have a higher effective dimension than SGD models.
Motivated by applications in Optimization, Game Theory, and the training of Generative Adversarial Networks, the convergence properties of first order methods in min-max problems have received extensive study. It has been recognized that they may cycle, and there is no good understanding of their limit points when they…
CEM-GD combines CEM and gradient descent for efficient model-based RL.
problem Efficient planning in continuous control settings with large prediction horizons.
method Combines CEM for exploration and gradient descent for exploitation.
result Achieves better performance with fewer samples and less computation time.
Continuous-time distributed mirror descent with integral feedback converges to global optimum.
problem Distributed optimization of a global strongly convex function with local convex components.
method Continuous-time distributed mirror descent with integral feedback.
result Asymptotic convergence to global optimum with constant step-size.
We address the issue of speeding up the training of convolutional networks. Here we study a distributed method adapted to stochastic gradient descent (SGD). The parallel optimization setup uses several threads, each applying individual gradient descents on a local variable. We propose a new way to share information bet…
We show that gradient descent converges to a local minimizer, almost surely with random initialization. This is proved by applying the Stable Manifold Theorem from dynamical systems theory.
A new dynamic learning-rate scheme for optimization.
problem Manual tuning of learning rates in optimization is time-consuming and error-prone.
method Locally optimal stepsize estimation for dynamic learning-rate scheduling.
result Our method achieves comparable performance with minimal tuning.