We introduce a new discriminant analysis method (Empirical Discriminant Analysis or EDA) for binary classification in machine learning. Given a dataset of feature vectors, this method defines an empirical feature map transforming the training and test data into new data with components having Gaussian empirical distrib…
Mixup helps learn both features in multi-view classification problems.
problem Learning both features in multi-view classification problems.
method Training with a specific instantiation of Mixup.
result Training with Mixup leads to learning both features for every class.
ERM performs well in feature learning with minimal feature maps.
problem Empirical risk minimization in feature learning with square loss.
method Asymptotic and non-asymptotic analysis of ERM performance.
result Excess risk quantiles of ERM match those of oracle procedure under certain conditions.
Random features provide a practical framework for large-scale kernel approximation and supervised learning. It has been shown that data-dependent sampling of random features using leverage scores can significantly reduce the number of features required to achieve optimal learning bounds. Leverage scores introduce an op…
A new feature selection method using attention for neural networks.
problem Feature selection for neural networks with a budget constraint.
method Sequential Attention: greedy forward selection with attention weights.
result Achieves state-of-the-art results for neural networks.
Derives FACT, an alternative to NFA for neural networks, explaining feature learning.
problem Understanding how neural networks learn representations.
method First-principles approach using first-order optimality conditions.
result FACT explains why NFA holds and provides a principled alternative.
Large-scale kernel approximation is an important problem in machine learning research. Approaches using random Fourier features have become increasingly popular [Rahimi and Recht, 2007], where kernel approximation is treated as empirical mean estimation via Monte Carlo (MC) or Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) integration [Yang …
New method for private learning with public features improves convergence rates.
problem Private estimation with public features under local differential privacy.
method Semi-feature LDP, HistOfTree estimator.
result HistOfTree reaches mini-max optimal convergence rate.
Theoretical analysis of vision transformers' performance with MAE and CL objectives.
problem Understanding the distinct representations learned by vision transformers with MAE and CL objectives.
method Modeling visual data distribution and analyzing ViTs training dynamics with gradient descent.
result ViTs trained with MAE objectives learn both global and local features, while CL-trained ViTs favor global features.
FeAT improves OOD generalization by learning richer features.
problem Improving feature learning for out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization.
method Feature Augmented Training (FeAT) iteratively augments and retains features from different subsets of training data.
result FeAT effectively learns richer features, boosting OOD performance.
Bayesian principles improve neural additive models for better feature selection and uncertainty.
problem Lack of calibrated uncertainties and feature selection in neural additive models.
method Augmenting NAMs with Bayesian principles to provide credible intervals, feature selection, and interaction ranking.
result Improved performance on tabular datasets and real-world medical tasks.
Researchers quantify the relationship between feature depth and performance in deep neural networks.
problem Understanding how depth affects feature extraction and generalization in deep neural networks.
method Adaptive analysis of feature-depth trade-offs in deep nets, proving optimal generalization performance.
result Optimal generalization performance achieved through empirical risk minimization on deep nets.
Paper analyzes if GANs with adversarial features outperform standard supervised learning.
problem Whether adversarial features improve performance over standard supervised learning.
method Theoretical analysis and empirical risk comparison.
result Supervised learning with adversarial features can outperform sole supervision under certain conditions.
New tool analyzes how features interact with data and models.
problem Lack of theoretical understanding of features in deep learning.
method Introduced interaction tensor to empirically analyze feature interactions.
result Proposed conceptual framework for feature learning with closed-form derivations.
A method identifies domain-general features using causal graph constraints and regularization.
problem Identifying domain-general features without prior knowledge of spurious features.
method Proposes a novel regularization framework based on causal graph constraints.
result Demonstrates effectiveness in both synthetic and real-world data, outperforming state-of-the-art methods.
Paper relaxes differential privacy for correlated features, improving privacy-utility trade-off.
problem Standard differential privacy ignores feature correlation, leading to suboptimal privacy-utility balance.
method Introduces CorrDP framework that accounts for feature correlation, using total variation distance for quantification.
result CorrDP algorithms outperform standard DP in synthetic and real-world datasets with insensitive features.
Microwave-based breast cancer detection has been proposed as a complementary approach to compensate for some drawbacks of existing breast cancer detection techniques. Among the existing microwave breast cancer detection methods, machine learning-type algorithms have recently become more popular. These focus on detectin…
Unsupervised domain adaptation is a promising way to generalize deep models to novel domains. However, the current literature assumes that the label distribution is domain-invariant and only aligns the feature distributions or vice versa. In this work, we explore the more realistic task of Class-imbalanced Domain Adapt…
Study proposes Local Linear Encoding for better feature discretization.
problem Improving feature discretization for numeric data.
method Theoretical analysis and Local Linear Encoding (LLE) method.
result LLE outperforms conventional methods with fewer parameters.
Shorter time windows and carefully selected features outperform longer periods and extra features in mortgage default prediction.
problem The paradox of increased training data and features leading to worse model performance in time series prediction.
method Empirical study using Fannie Mae's mortgage data, comparing different time window lengths and feature combinations.
result Shorter time windows and carefully selected features yield superior prediction results in mortgage default prediction.
Feature Learning aims to extract relevant information contained in data sets in an automated fashion. It is driving force behind the current deep learning trend, a set of methods that have had widespread empirical success. What is lacking is a theoretical understanding of different feature learning schemes. This work p…
In machine learning applications for online product offerings and marketing strategies, there are often hundreds or thousands of features available to build such models. Feature selection is one essential method in such applications for multiple objectives: improving the prediction accuracy by eliminating irrelevant fe…
Proposes a new method to learn meta-priors from data.
problem Improving learning systems with domain knowledge and controlling parameter learning rates.
method Hierarchical Empirical Bayes approach to decouple learning rates of features.
result Meta-prior learning improves performance and convergence time in various applications.
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 simple and computationally efficient significance test for the features of a machine learning model. Our forward-selection approach applies to any model specification, learning task and variable type. The test is non-asymptotic, straightforward to implement, and does not require model refitting. It identif…
ReLU neural networks define piecewise linear functions of their inputs. However, initializing and training a neural network is very different from fitting a linear spline. In this paper, we expand empirically upon previous theoretical work to demonstrate features of trained neural networks. Standard network initializat…
This paper uses feature preprocessing and RRL to automate profitable financial trading.
problem Automating profitable financial trading strategies.
method Feature preprocessing (PCA, DWT) followed by Recurrent Reinforcement Learning (RRL).
result The proposed strategy is effective, robust, and mitigates RRL's drawbacks.
New framework explains why over-parameterized neural networks work well.
problem Why over-parameterized neural networks perform well in practice.
method Neural feature repopulation framework using gradient descent.
result Over-parameterized two-level neural networks learn near optimal feature distributions.
Neural networks outperform kernels by learning features better.
problem Current theories of feature learning do not adequately assess feature quality.
method Introduced feature quality metric and examined existing theories empirically.
result Current theories of feature learning do not provide a sufficient foundation for neural network generalization.
More features and data lead to better model performance in random feature regression.
problem Improving model performance in random feature regression.
method Theoretical analysis of random feature regression, demonstrating the benefits of overparameterization, overfitting, and more data.
result Infinite width RF architectures are preferable to those of any finite width, and training to near-zero training loss is obligatory for near-optimal performance.
Decentralized learning for GLMs with feature distribution and network connectivity.
problem Optimizing generalized linear models in a decentralized network with feature partitioning.
method Chambolle--Pock primal--dual algorithm applied to an equivalent saddle-point formulation.
result Convergence rates for empirical risk minimization under Lipschitz and square root Lipschitz assumptions.
HHT feature generation enhances financial time series forecasting.
problem Forecasting nonstationary financial time series.
method CEEMD and HHT for decomposition, machine learning integration.
result HHT-enhanced models outperform traditional models in forecasting.
Meta-learning is increasingly used to support the recommendation of machine learning algorithms and their configurations. Such recommendations are made based on meta-data, consisting of performance evaluations of algorithms on prior datasets, as well as characterizations of these datasets. These characterizations, also…
A fast method estimates stability of ensemble feature selectors.
problem Improving stability of ensemble feature selectors for better prediction.
method Simulator of a feature selector to estimate stability.
result Reduces computation time for estimating stability.
Paper explains DRL strategies for portfolio management using linear models.
problem Difficulty in understanding DRL-based trading strategies.
method Empirical approach using linear models and integrated gradients.
result DRL agents show stronger multi-step prediction power than machine learning methods.
Proposes a method to select features for deep learning in noisy, high-dimensional data.
problem Feature selection for deep learning in ultra-high dimensional and highly correlated data.
method Data-adaptive multi-resolutional screening and cleaning with deep learning.
result Achieves high power while keeping false discovery rate low.
Method learns relational features for Gaifman models from knowledge bases.
problem Structure learning for Gaifman models.
method Relational tree distances to learn relational features.
result Empirical evaluation shows superiority over classical rule-learning.
Deep models learn spurious features correlated with target, but can still perform well.
problem Spurious correlations in feature learning.
method Empirical risk minimization and specialized group robustness training.
result Feature representations learned by ERM are competitive with specialized methods.
Graph neural networks (GNNs) have become increasingly popular for classification tasks on graph-structured data. Yet, the interplay between graph topology and feature evolution in GNNs is not well understood. In this paper, we focus on node-wise classification, illustrated with community detection on stochastic block m…
AEN-SAEs address feature starvation in sparse autoencoders by stabilizing the geometric alignment of sparse coding.
problem Feature starvation in sparse autoencoders, leading to unstable and misaligned representations.
method Adaptive Elastic Net SAEs (AEN-SAEs) combine ℓ2 and ℓ1 terms to stabilize the sparse coding map and control feature interactions. result AEN-SAEs mitigate feature starvation without heuristic resampling, maintaining competitive reconstruction abilities.
The study sets lower bounds on MMSE for inferring sensitive features from noisy data.
problem Estimating sensitive features from noisy observations of correlated features.
method Adversarial evaluation framework based on MMSE estimation with theoretical lower bounds.
result Derives closed-form bounds for linear models, showing optimality in noise variance.
Deep learning models for survival analysis have gained significant attention in the literature, but they suffer from severe performance deficits when the dataset contains many irrelevant features. We give empirical evidence for this problem in real-world medical settings using the state-of-the-art model DeepHit. Furthe…
Study explains how noisyGD with DP improves feature learning despite high dimensionality.
problem Improving feature learning in differential privacy settings with noisyGD.
method Layer-peeled model in representation learning, error bound analysis, feature normalization, PCA.
result Misclassification error is independent of dimension in NC, and PCA improves testing accuracy.
New method controls sparse feature updates in deep networks.
problem Understanding sparse feature updates in deep networks during training.
method Iterative linearised training method to control sparse feature updates.
result Iterative linearised training surprisingly performs on par with standard training, requiring less frequent feature learning.
We consider the problem of improving kernel approximation via randomized feature maps. These maps arise as Monte Carlo approximation to integral representations of kernel functions and scale up kernel methods for larger datasets. Based on an efficient numerical integration technique, we propose a unifying approach that…
DRSS method identifies unnecessary samples and features in DR covariate shift.
problem Identifying unnecessary samples and features in DR covariate shift.
method Combines DR learning and safe screening techniques.
result DRSS method provides reliable identification of unnecessary samples and features under specified distribution uncertainty.
Simplifies GNN models by selecting important features for node classification.
problem Challenges in analyzing and selecting important features in GNN models.
method Decoupling feature aggregation and depth, using softmax and L2-normalization.
result FSGNN achieves comparable or higher accuracy than state-of-the-art GNN models.
Deep learning has become increasingly popular in both supervised and unsupervised machine learning thanks to its outstanding empirical performance. However, because of their intrinsic complexity, most deep learning methods are largely treated as black box tools with little interpretability. Even though recent attempts …