Dropout is a widely-used regularization technique, often required to obtain state-of-the-art for a number of architectures. This work demonstrates that dropout introduces two distinct but entangled regularization effects: an explicit effect (also studied in prior work) which occurs since dropout modifies the expected t…
The paper proposes effective margin regularization to improve adversarial robustness in deep neural networks.
problem Adversarial vulnerability of deep neural networks (DNNs).
method Regularization of effective weight norm during training to maximize effective margins.
result Effective margin regularization (EMR) boosts adversarial robustness in both standard and adversarial training.
Dynamic CBDT improves treatment effect estimation in clinical data.
problem Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects in observational data with high accuracy and interpretability.
method Dynamic Regularized Causal Boosted Decision Trees (CBDT) integrating variance regularization and calibration.
result Significantly improved estimation accuracy and reliable coverage of true treatment effects.
Weight decay is one of the standard tricks in the neural network toolbox, but the reasons for its regularization effect are poorly understood, and recent results have cast doubt on the traditional interpretation in terms of L2 regularization. Literal weight decay has been shown to outperform L2 regularization for…
Dropout regularizes against high-order interactions by canceling interaction rates.
problem Overfitting to high-order interactions in neural networks.
method Analyzes Dropout through the lens of interaction effects, showing how it effectively cancels out the probability of surviving interactions of different orders.
result Dropout regularizes against high-order interactions by effectively canceling out the probability of surviving interactions of different orders.
DONUT improves treatment effect estimation by enforcing orthogonality constraints.
problem Estimating treatment effects from observational data is challenging due to unobserved outcomes.
method DONUT uses a regularization framework that formalizes unconfoundedness as orthogonality, leading to deep orthogonal networks.
result DONUT outperforms state-of-the-art methods in estimating average treatment effects.
The paper proposes a neural network method to estimate treatment effects by balancing treated and control distributions.
problem Estimating individual and average treatment effects from observational data.
method Balance regularization of multi-head neural network architectures to reduce confounding effects.
result The approach reduces bias-variance trade-off and improves treatment effect estimation.
We provide adaptive inference methods, based on ℓ1 regularization, for regular (semi-parametric) and non-regular (nonparametric) linear functionals of the conditional expectation function. Examples of regular functionals include average treatment effects, policy effects, and derivatives. Examples of non-regular f…
Gradient matching method estimates implicit regularization in complex deep learning systems.
problem Estimating implicit regularization in modern deep learning systems with complex modifications.
method Gradient matching methods to empirically estimate implicit regularization.
result Empirical estimation of implicit regularization in arbitrary networks, including dropout.
We investigate robustness of deep feed-forward neural networks when input data are subject to random uncertainties. More specifically, we consider regularization of the network by its Lipschitz constant and emphasize its role. We highlight the fact that this regularization is not only a way to control the magnitude of …
PEGR improves deep learning models' robustness against noisy data.
problem Learning signals from noisy data in deep learning models.
method Per-example gradient regularization (PEGR) to suppress noise.
result PEGR enhances test error and robustness against noise perturbations.
Neural networks learn the support of the target function through SGD's implicit regularization effect.
problem Learning the support of the target function in neural networks.
method Investigation of mini-batch SGD's ability to learn the support in the first layer of a neural network.
result Mini-batch SGD effectively learns the support in the first layer by shrinking irrelevant weights, while vanilla GD requires an explicit regularization term.
Wasserstein distributionally robust optimization (DRO) has recently achieved empirical success for various applications in operations research and machine learning, owing partly to its regularization effect. Although connection between Wasserstein DRO and regularization has been established in several settings, existin…
Deep tensor factorization benefits from implicit regularization with polynomial growth.
problem Tensor factorization's implicit regularization effect in deep networks is not well understood.
method Investigated the implicit regularization in deep tensor factorization, showing polynomial growth.
result Implicit regularization in deep tensor factorization grows polynomially with depth, improving estimation accuracy and convergence.
Batch Normalization is a commonly used trick to improve the training of deep neural networks. These neural networks use L2 regularization, also called weight decay, ostensibly to prevent overfitting. However, we show that L2 regularization has no regularizing effect when combined with normalization. Instead, regulariza…
Many applied settings in empirical economics involve simultaneous estimation of a large number of parameters. In particular, applied economists are often interested in estimating the effects of many-valued treatments (like teacher effects or location effects), treatment effects for many groups, and prediction models wi…
Regularization effect found in neural feature alignment.
problem Implicit regularization in deep learning models.
method Geometrical viewpoint and analysis of Rademacher complexity.
result Neural features align along task-relevant directions, leading to regularization.
We investigate regularized algorithms combining with projection for least-squares regression problem over a Hilbert space, covering nonparametric regression over a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. We prove convergence results with respect to variants of norms, under a capacity assumption on the hypothesis space and a …
Lower discount factors act as a regularizer in RL, improving performance.
problem Improving RL performance with limited data.
method Explicitly equating reduced discount factors to regularization terms.
result Regularization effectiveness depends on data properties.
A simple regularization method improves model generalization.
problem Overfitting due to lack of labeled data in machine learning models.
method Density-fixing regularization method based on class prior distribution.
result Improves model generalization performance by approximating class prior distribution.
Regularization can improve machine learning models' robustness against poisoning attacks.
problem Poisoning attacks degrade machine learning models' performance by manipulating a fraction of the training data.
method Proposes a novel optimal attack formulation considering the effect of hyperparameters on regularization, leading to better evaluation of robustness.
result Demonstrates that L2 regularization can help mitigate the impact of poisoning attacks. In this study, the effects of eight representation regularization methods are investigated, including two newly developed rank regularizers (RR). The investigation shows that the statistical characteristics of representations such as correlation, sparsity, and rank can be manipulated as intended, during training. Furth…
KL regularization helps RL algorithms by implicitly averaging q-values.
problem Understanding why KL regularization improves RL performance.
method An approximate value iteration scheme, studying KL and entropy regularization.
result Strong performance bound combining linear horizon dependency and averaging effect of estimation errors.
Regularization may not fully protect against membership inference attacks.
problem Mitigating membership inference attacks in deep learning models.
method Evaluation of 8 regularization mechanisms on three image classification tasks.
result Certain regularization mechanisms can inadvertently help membership inference attacks.
Regularized policies are robust to adversarial rewards.
problem Understanding the effects of regularization on policy exploration and robustness.
method Using Fenchel duality to derive the dual problem of the regularized RL objective, showing the optimal policy is robust to adversarial rewards.
result Regularized policies are optimal for a reinforcement learning problem under adversarial reward conditions.
Sparse regularization such as ℓ1 regularization is a quite powerful and widely used strategy for high dimensional learning problems. The effectiveness of sparse regularization has been supported practically and theoretically by several studies. However, one of the biggest issues in sparse regularization is that i…
New method improves CATE estimation in low overlap regions.
problem Low overlap in CATE estimation leads to poor performance of meta-learners.
method Overlap-Adaptive Regularization (OAR) that regularizes models proportionally to overlap weights.
result OAR significantly improves CATE estimation in low-overlap settings.
We propose a new point of view for regularizing deep neural networks by using the norm of a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS). Even though this norm cannot be computed, it admits upper and lower approximations leading to various practical strategies. Specifically, this perspective (i) provides a common umbrella f…
Label noise in SGD helps converge to flatter minima.
problem Improving generalization in overparametrized models.
method Analyzes SGD with label noise, showing convergence to regularized minima.
result SGD with label noise converges to flatter minima, improving generalization.
Selective state-adaptive regularization improves offline RL performance.
problem Extrapolation errors and value overestimation in static dataset RL.
method State-adaptive regularization coefficients trust Bellman-driven results selectively.
result Significant improvement in performance on D4RL benchmark.
This paper studies the relationship between fundamental groups of manifolds and their effective regular sets.
problem Understanding the relationship between fundamental groups of manifolds and their effective regular sets.
method Constructing surjective homomorphisms between fundamental groups and effective regular sets.
result Natural homomorphisms φi and ψi are constructed, with their composition equal to the induced homomorphism by inclusion. New methods optimize personalized treatment assignment in trials with many arms.
problem Poor performance of standard methods in trials with many treatment arms.
method Regularized and clustered joint assignment forest algorithm.
result Gains in predicting arm-wise outcomes and utility gains from personalization.
Regularization is typically understood as improving generalization by altering the landscape of local extrema to which the model eventually converges. Deep neural networks (DNNs), however, challenge this view: We show that removing regularization after an initial transient period has little effect on generalization, ev…
Regularization plays a crucial role in machine learning models, especially for deep neural networks. The existing regularization techniques mainly rely on the i.i.d. assumption and only consider the knowledge from the current sample, without the leverage of the neighboring relationship between samples. In this work, we…
Introduces top-k regularization for better feature selection in machine learning.
problem Limited ability of existing feature selection methods to reconcile feature representativeness and inter-correlations.
method Top-k regularization, which induces a sub-architecture on the model's architecture to select informative features and model complex relationships. result Uniform approximation error bound for top-k regularization approximating high-dimensional sparse functions. Dropout is a simple but effective technique for learning in neural networks and other settings. A sound theoretical understanding of dropout is needed to determine when dropout should be applied and how to use it most effectively. In this paper we continue the exploration of dropout as a regularizer pioneered by Wager,…
New regularization method corrects over-shrinkage in small data regression.
problem Over-shrinkage in small data regression leading to underfitting.
method Negative-capable ridge family that permits negative regularization.
result Negative regularization acts as controlled anti-shrinkage, increasing effective complexity.
We present an adaptive regularization algorithm that can be effectively applied to the optimization problem in deep learning framework. Our regularization algorithm aims to take into account the fitness of data to the current state of model in the determination of regularity to achieve better generalization. The degree…
While the impact of variational inference (VI) on posterior inference in a fixed generative model is well-characterized, its role in regularizing a learned generative model when used in variational autoencoders (VAEs) is poorly understood. We study the regularizing effects of variational distributions on learning in ge…
Building machine learning models that are fair with respect to an unprivileged group is a topical problem. Modern fairness-aware algorithms often ignore causal effects and enforce fairness through modifications applicable to only a subset of machine learning models. In this work, we propose a new definition of fairness…
The paper investigates polynomial alternatives to softmax in transformer models.
problem The effectiveness of softmax attention in transformers is questioned.
method The authors explore polynomial activations as alternatives to softmax, focusing on their ability to regularize the attention matrix.
result Certain polynomials can serve as effective substitutes for softmax in transformer applications, achieving strong performance.
DANR improves network regularization for spatio-temporal data.
problem Inadequate edge weights compromise network regularization.
method Discrepancy-aware network regularization (DANR) with ADMM.
result DANR achieves improved performance on various tasks.
Evolutionary methods improve neural network loss functions, reducing overfitting.
problem Improving neural network performance and preventing overfitting.
method Evolutionary computation to optimize loss functions, balancing error pull and overfitting push.
result Evolved loss functions effectively reduce overfitting, leading to better performance and robustness.
New principles needed for scaling large language models, challenging traditional regularization methods.
problem The shift from generalization to scaling in machine learning requires new guiding principles.
method Examining the effectiveness of traditional regularization methods in the scaling-centric era.
result Traditional principles of regularization may not generalize to larger scales, highlighting new phenomena like scaling law crossover.
A new framework for offline RL improves policy flexibility and regularity.
problem Lack of environmental interactions in offline RL leads to poor policy performance.
method Proposes a behavior-regularized implicit policy framework with modified policy-matching methods.
result The framework improves policy effectiveness and robustness beyond static datasets.
This paper introduces NPR, a technique to improve Bayesian inference for multi-modal, high-dimensional simulations.
problem Challenges in Bayesian inference for multi-modal, high-dimensional simulations.
method Introduces Neural Posterior Regularization (NPR) to enforce exploration of input parameter space.
result Empirically validated that NPR significantly improves performance on various simulation tasks.
LocalDrop uses local Rademacher complexity for neural network regularization.
problem Overfitting in deep neural networks.
method Developed a new regularization function based on local Rademacher complexity.
result Demonstrated effectiveness of LocalDrop through extensive experiments.
Proposes a method to adapt models in nonstationary environments using ℓ1 regularization.
problem Adapting models to nonstationary environments in machine learning.
method Integrates ℓ1 regularization of differences between source and target parameters.
result Effective balance of stability and plasticity in model adaptation.