Improves posterior approximation speed for Dirichlet process mixture models.
problem Inefficiency of stochastic variational inference in large datasets.
method Uses stochastic gradient ascent with adaptive stepsize optimization.
result Adaptive stepsize improves speed and performance of posterior approximation.
New algorithm for active exploration in bandit problems.
problem Active exploration in bandit problems.
method Gradient ascent with online lazy mirror ascent sampling rule.
result Asymptotically optimal and computationally efficient.
The stochastic dual coordinate-ascent (S-DCA) technique is a useful alternative to the traditional stochastic gradient-descent algorithm for solving large-scale optimization problems due to its scalability to large data sets and strong theoretical guarantees. However, the available S-DCA formulation is limited to finit…
Gradient ascent method successfully removes specific data points from neural networks without retraining.
problem Addressing privacy and ethical concerns by removing specific data points from trained models.
method Gradient ascent approach to unlearning, leveraging the implicit bias of gradient descent towards margin maximization conditions.
result Gradient ascent method can successfully unlearn specific data points from two-layer ReLU neural networks without retraining.
Alt-GDA outperforms Sim-GDA in minimax games with near-optimal local convergence.
problem Minimax optimization convergence rate comparison
method Alternating Gradient Descent-Ascent (Alt-GDA) vs. Simultaneous Gradient Descent-Ascent (Sim-GDA)
result Alt-GDA achieves near-optimal local convergence rate for strongly convex-strongly concave problems, while Sim-GDA converges slower.
Policy gradient aims to maximize expected return using gradient ascent.
problem Finding a policy that maximizes expected return in a given class of policies.
method Gradient ascent applied to a differentiable model of the policy, estimating the gradient of expected return.
result Policy gradient methods require on-policy data for gradient estimation, limiting sample efficiency.
Study shows how adaptive market agents can lead to persistent overpricing in financial markets.
problem Persistent overpricing in financial markets by adaptive market agents.
method Analyzes a repeated game between market maker and market taker, decomposes the game into competitive and collaborative components, and uses projected stochastic gradient ascent.
result Decentralized learning by adaptive market agents can lead to persistent overpricing in financial markets.
TiAda adapts adaptive gradient methods for nonconvex minimax optimization.
problem Nonconvex minimax optimization challenges in achieving convergence.
method TiAda is a time-scale adaptive GDA algorithm for nonconvex minimax optimization.
result TiAda achieves near-optimal complexities in deterministic and stochastic settings.
Deep learning technique solves large 0-1 knapsack problems quickly.
problem Large-scale 0-1 knapsack problems with variable item values.
method Adaptive gradient ascent method based on Lagrange multiplier and game theory.
result Solves all large-scale benchmark KP instances in a minute.
New algorithm solves federated minimax optimization problems.
problem Federated minimax optimization challenges.
method Federated Stochastic Smoothed Gradient Descent Ascent (FESS-GDA).
result FESS-GDA uniformly solves federated minimax problems.
New methods optimize training VQAs without barren plateaus, improving efficiency and applicability.
problem Barren plateaus in training variational quantum algorithms.
method Derive adaptive learning rates and use Gaussian kernels to optimize movement in parameter space.
result Optimized training methods outperform other routines and can train VQAs free of barren plateaus.
Gradient descent-ascent converges to strict local minmax equilibria with a finite timescale separation.
problem Analyzing the convergence of gradient descent-ascent in non-convex, non-concave games with a finite timescale separation.
method Investigates the role of a finite timescale separation parameter τ on gradient descent-ascent in two-player zero-sum games, providing convergence rates and non-convergence results.
result Gradient descent-ascent converges to strict local minmax equilibria for a finite timescale separation parameter τ*.
Paper introduces SGA for barycenter optimization in optimal transport.
problem Optimizing Wasserstein barycenter for discrete distributions.
method Sobolev gradient ascent algorithm tailored to Wasserstein geometry.
result SGA achieves convergence rate similar to subgradient descent.
A new differentiable UCB algorithm for linear bandits learns adaptive confidence bounds.
problem Inability of UCB to strike optimal exploration-exploitation due to confidence bounds.
method Proposes a differentiable linear bandit algorithm and a gradient estimator for learning adaptive confidence bounds.
result Achieves a i l d e O ( β ^ d T ) ilde{\mathcal{O}}(\hatβ\sqrt{dT}) i l d e O ( β ^ d T ) upper bound of T T T -round regret. Lazy neural networks are vulnerable to adversarial attacks.
problem Adversarial robustness issues in lazy training models.
method Extending recent work on adversarial examples to lazy training models.
result Over-parametrized neural networks that generalize well remain vulnerable to single-step gradient ascent attacks.
SoftAD improves classification accuracy with less fine-tuning and fewer computational costs.
problem Improving classification accuracy with less fine-tuning and fewer computational costs.
method SoftAD is a softened, pointwise mechanism that downweights borderline points and limits the effects of outliers.
result SoftAD achieves classification accuracy competitive with flooding and SAM, with a smaller loss generalization gap and model norm.
The paper connects two clustering methods by showing gradient ascent flow can move up the cluster tree.
problem Establishing a strong correspondence between clustering methods.
method Moving up the cluster tree by following the gradient ascent flow.
result Gradient ascent flow can be used to move up the cluster tree.
This paper introduces AdaSDCA: an adaptive variant of stochastic dual coordinate ascent (SDCA) for solving the regularized empirical risk minimization problems. Our modification consists in allowing the method adaptively change the probability distribution over the dual variables throughout the iterative process. AdaSD…
SAVO actor improves reinforcement learning by avoiding local optima in complex Q-functions.
problem Gradient ascent in complex Q-functions leads to suboptimal solutions.
method SAVO actor generates multiple action proposals and truncates poor local optima.
result SAVO actor finds optimal actions more frequently and outperforms other architectures.
In this paper we consider solving saddle point problems using two variants of Gradient Descent-Ascent algorithms, Extra-gradient (EG) and Optimistic Gradient Descent Ascent (OGDA) methods. We show that both of these algorithms admit a unified analysis as approximations of the classical proximal point method for solving…
Gradient-descent-ascent dynamics can exhibit various behaviors in non-convex non-concave games.
problem Gradient-descent-ascent dynamics in non-convex non-concave games can lead to recurrent behavior and spurious equilibria.
method Combines optimization theory, game theory, and dynamical systems.
result Gradient-descent-ascent dynamics can exhibit Poincaré recurrence and converge to spurious equilibria.
A faster method for optimizing DNA and protein sequences using machine learning.
problem Designing DNA and protein sequences with improved function.
method Activation maximization with a straight-through approximation and adaptive entropy variable.
result Fast SeqProp achieves up to 100-fold faster convergence and improved fitness optima.
A scalable method for BED with implicit models using approximate gradients.
problem Efficiently estimating posterior distribution and maximizing MI for implicit models.
method Stochastic approximate gradient ascent with smoothed variational MI estimator.
result Significantly improves scalability of BED in high-dimensional problems.
Optimizes binary regression models with gradient ascent-descent methods.
problem Regression problems with binary weights in quantized learning and digital communication.
method Maximin optimization using gradient ascent-descent methods.
result The approach is optimal in linear regression with low noise and robust regression with few outliers.
New ODE models show saddle-point optimization methods converge differently, with last-iterate convergence for OGDA.
problem Analyzing convergence properties of saddle-point optimization methods.
method High-Resolution Differential Equations (HRDEs) to design differential equation models for saddle-point optimization methods.
result HRDEs reveal last-iterate convergence for Optimistic Gradient Descent Ascent (OGDA) in bilinear games.
Combines neural networks and decision trees for supervised learning.
problem Challenges in optimizing hierarchical parameters and constructing tree structures.
method Probabilistic approach with modified gradient ascent and adaptive tree construction.
result Novel classification and regression technique that combines strengths of neural networks and decision trees.
Unified approach for Bayesian optimal experiment design using stochastic gradients.
problem Designing optimal experiments in high-dimensional settings.
method Stochastic gradient ascent to optimize variational lower bounds on expected information gain.
result Unified approach outperforms existing methods in higher dimensions.
Paper studies convergence of Mean-Field GDA dynamics for MNE of continuous games.
problem Finding mixed Nash equilibria in continuous games.
method Two-scale Mean-Field Gradient Descent Ascent dynamics.
result Two-scale Mean-Field GDA converges exponentially to MNE without convexity assumptions.
Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) has become popular for solving large scale supervised machine learning optimization problems such as SVM, due to their strong theoretical guarantees. While the closely related Dual Coordinate Ascent (DCA) method has been implemented in various software packages, it has so far lacked go…
SREDA optimizes complex machine learning problems with fewer evaluations.
problem Finding an optimal point in nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax problems.
method Stochastic Recursive Gradient Descent Ascent (SREDA) with variance reduction.
result Achieves optimal stochastic gradient complexity of O(κ^3ε^-3).
This paper introduces a new method to evaluate multiple policies simultaneously.
problem Estimating the value of many policies for a single set of states.
method Developed a scalable, differentiable fingerprinting mechanism to represent complex policies.
result The method can produce policies that outperform those that generated the training data, in zero-shot manner.
Stochastic dual coordinate ascent (SDCA) is an effective technique for solving regularized loss minimization problems in machine learning. This paper considers an extension of SDCA under the mini-batch setting that is often used in practice. Our main contribution is to introduce an accelerated mini-batch version of SDC…
Improves BED scalability for implicit models.
problem Designing experiments for implicit models with intractable data distributions.
method Hybrid gradient approach combining variational MI estimator, ES, and SGA.
result Significantly improves scalability of BED for implicit models.
Algorithm converges to Nash equilibria in competitive games.
problem Finding Nash equilibria in decentralized, competitive Markov games.
method Decentralized Optimistic Gradient Descent/Ascent with a critic.
result Converges to the set of Nash equilibria under self-play.
Method identifies mixed Nash equilibria in high dimensions for training mixtures of GANs.
problem Finding Nash equilibria in two-player zero-sum continuous games, especially in high dimensions.
method Parametrizing mixed strategies as mixtures of particles, updating their positions and weights using gradient descent-ascent.
result Global convergence to an approximate equilibrium for the related Langevin gradient-ascent dynamic.
Gradient Descent Ascent converges to von-Neumann solution in hidden zero-sum games.
problem Understanding dynamics of zero-sum games with hidden structure.
method Gradient Descent Ascent applied to hidden zero-sum games with specific convex-concave structure.
result Gradient Descent Ascent converges to von-Neumann solution in strictly convex-concave hidden games.
SGD finds global optima in WGANs for 1-layer generators.
problem Training GANs with WGANs requires global optimality, which is hard.
method Used SGD to train 1-layer generator networks in WGANs.
result SGD converges to global solution in polynomial time and sample complexity.
Paper proposes algorithms for solving nonconvex-nonconcave problems with complexity guarantees.
problem Nonconvex-nonconcave minimax problems with PL condition.
method Zeroth-order AGDA and VRAGDA algorithms.
result Iteration complexities for obtaining ε-stationary points.
Ad-SVGD optimizes kernel parameters for SVGD, improving inference performance.
problem Efficiently approximating posterior distributions in Bayesian inference.
method Adaptive kernel selection for SVGD dynamics.
result Ad-SVGD outperforms standard heuristics in various tasks.
Variational Bayesian neural nets combine the flexibility of deep learning with Bayesian uncertainty estimation. Unfortunately, there is a tradeoff between cheap but simple variational families (e.g.~fully factorized) or expensive and complicated inference procedures. We show that natural gradient ascent with adaptive w…
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.
The paper interprets policy-gradient algorithms using continuation theory.
problem Optimizing nonconvex functions in reinforcement learning.
method Formulates policy optimization as optimization by continuation, interprets policy-gradient algorithms as implicitly optimizing deterministic policies.
result Exploration in policy-gradient algorithms is seen as computing a continuation of the return of the policy.
New framework improves variational inference with Markov chain methods.
problem Challenges of minimizing KL divergence with stochastic gradient descent.
method Markov chain score ascent (MCSA) methods, including parallel MCSA (pMCSA).
result Improved theoretical and empirical performance of MCSA methods.
Paper improves risk bounds for nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax problems.
problem Achieving sharper risk bounds for nonconvex-strongly-concave minimax problems.
method Using uniform localized convergence to derive high probability generalization error bounds.
result Derives n times faster excess primal risk bounds for popular algorithms.
Gradient methods converge exponentially in concave network games.
problem Finding Nash equilibria in concave network zero-sum games.
method Gradient Ascent and Optimistic Gradient Ascent analyses.
result Exponential convergence rates in various game settings.
Generalizes PCA to maximize any convex function of components.
problem Finding a principal vector that maximizes a convex function of components.
method Gradient ascent algorithm for solving the generalized PCA problem; fixed points of neural networks for kernel version.
result Solutions can be obtained as fixed points of simple neural networks.
This work investigates the training of conditional random fields (CRFs) via the stochastic dual coordinate ascent (SDCA) algorithm of Shalev-Shwartz and Zhang (2016). SDCA enjoys a linear convergence rate and a strong empirical performance for binary classification problems. However, it has never been used to train CRF…
RSGDA improves convergence rates for nonconvex-strongly concave optimization.
problem Optimization of nonconvex-strongly concave problems.
method Randomized Stochastic Gradient Descent Ascent (RSGDA) with optimal loop sizes.
result First almost sure convergence rates for SGDA algorithms on nonconvex-strongly concave settings.