CFR-Pro enhances treatment effect estimation by incorporating local proximity.
problem Treatment selection bias in HTE estimation from observational data.
method Proximity-enhanced CounterFactual Regression (CFR-Pro) with pair-wise proximity regularizer and subspace projector.
result Significantly outperforms competitors in HTE estimation accuracy.
This paper converts ADMM to proximal gradient for efficient sparse estimation.
problem Sparse estimation problems like fused lasso and convex clustering.
method General method converting ADMM to proximal gradient, assuming Lipschitz continuity of derivative.
result Significant improvement in efficiency for sparse estimation problems.
New method uses zeroth-order queries to approximate proximal sampling efficiently.
problem Approximating proximal sampling with zeroth-order information.
method Direct simulation of heat flow dynamics, treating intermediate distribution as Gaussian mixture.
result Inherits exponential convergence under isoperimetric conditions, avoids rejection sampling.
The paper analyzes two ISGD modes for statistical inference, deriving error bounds and confidence intervals.
problem Statistical inference with implicit SGD for smooth convex functions.
method Proximal Robbins-Monro (proxRM) and proximal Polyak-Ruppert (proxPR) procedures for ISGD.
result Derives non-asymptotic error bounds and confidence interval estimators for model parameters.
Stochastic version of proximal distance algorithm analyzed and validated.
problem Optimization of constrained estimation problems.
method Stochastic proximal distance algorithm, with convergence guarantees and finite error bounds.
result Convergence guarantees and finite error bounds for the first time.
Deep neural networks improve proximal inference for causal effects.
problem Estimating causal effects in the presence of unmeasured confounders.
method Flexible deep neural network to estimate the bridge function.
result Achieves state-of-the-art performance on benchmarks.
The need for parameter estimation with massive datasets has reinvigorated interest in stochastic optimization and iterative estimation procedures. Stochastic approximations are at the forefront of this recent development as they yield procedures that are simple, general, and fast. However, standard stochastic approxima…
A method for estimating the median of gradients in stochastic optimization.
problem Robust gradient estimation in stochastic optimization for various applications.
method Stochastic Proximal Point Method for median gradient estimation.
result The proposed method can converge even under heavy-tailed, state-dependent noise.
The paper improves proximity estimates for hypersurfaces with almost constant curvature in space forms.
problem Proximity to a single sphere for hypersurfaces with curvature functions close to a constant.
method Unified approach using the method of moving planes.
result Sharp quantitative estimates of proximity to a single sphere.
New algorithm proves convergence for MAP estimation with denoisers.
problem Proving convergence of MAP estimation methods using pretrained denoisers.
method A simple gradient descent algorithm on smoothed proximal objectives.
result Algorithm provably converges to the proximal operator under log-concavity.
Proposes a probabilistic optimization method for large-scale problems.
problem Large-scale regularized optimization problems.
method Develops a probabilistic interpretation of the incremental proximal gradient algorithm and uses Bayesian filtering.
result Makes it possible to solve large-scale problems using well-known Bayesian filters.
Proximal Mediation Analysis with Hidden Recanting Witnesses
problem Identifying path-specific effects in mediation analysis when recanting witnesses are unknown
method Proximal causal inference and semiparametric inference framework
result Developed three novel identification strategies and a semiparametric inference framework
Many machine learning techniques sacrifice convenient computational structures to gain estimation robustness and modeling flexibility. However, by exploring the modeling structures, we find these "sacrifices" do not always require more computational efforts. To shed light on such a "free-lunch" phenomenon, we study the…
New methods estimate causal effects through mediators, handling confounding without strict assumptions.
problem Estimating causal effects through mediators while accounting for unmeasured confounding.
method Developed four nonparametric identification strategies using proximal confounding bridge functions, efficient influence function, and quadruply robust estimator. Proposed proximal debiased machine learning approach for high-dimensional nuisance parameters.
result Achieved n \sqrt{n} n -consistency and asymptotic normality for path-specific effect estimation. New algorithms improve inference in non-differentiable models.
problem Inference and learning in latent variable models with non-differentiable densities.
method Proximal interacting particle Langevin algorithms (PIPLA).
result Nonasymptotic bounds and effectiveness demonstrated in various models.
New method finds linear relationships across multiple data blocks using proximal gradient descent with ℓ 1 \ell_1 ℓ 1 constraint.
problem Finding leading generalized eigenvectors for multi-block CCA.
method Proximal gradient descent with ℓ 1 \ell_1 ℓ 1 constraint. result Rate-optimal solution under suitable assumptions.
Estimates MoE models with feature selection for high-dimensional data.
problem Estimation and feature selection in Mixtures-of-Experts models with high-dimensional predictors.
method Regularized maximum likelihood estimation with proximal-Newton EM algorithm.
result Good performance in recovering sparse solutions, parameter estimation, and clustering of heterogeneous data.
Improves RL algorithms with two techniques.
problem Enhance off-policy RL performance.
method Formulates RL as proximal point iteration; uses value functions for improved action value estimate.
result Significant performance improvement on RL benchmarks.
DML-CMR estimator reduces bias in CMR problems using deep neural networks.
problem Solving conditional moment restrictions with deep neural networks.
method Double/debiased machine learning framework for unbiased estimation.
result Achieves minimax optimal convergence rate of O ( N − 1 / 2 ) O(N^{-1/2}) O ( N − 1/2 ) . Accelerates sampling from Gibbs distributions using ARWP method.
problem Sampling from Gibbs distributions efficiently.
method ARWP method, combining Nesterov acceleration and regularized Wasserstein proximal.
result ARWP exhibits higher contraction rate and faster tail exploration.
Proximal Diffusion Models improve generative model efficiency.
problem Improving generative model efficiency and accuracy.
method Developed Proximal Diffusion Models using proximal maps instead of scores.
result Proximal Diffusion Models achieve faster convergence and higher accuracy.
The paper addresses nonconvex penalized LAD estimation in partial linear models using DNNs.
problem Challenges in nonconvex penalized LAD estimation with DNNs in partial linear models.
method Parameterizes nonparametric term with DNNs, formulates penalized LAD problem, introduces proximal subgradient method.
result Establishes consistency, convergence rate, and asymptotic normality of the estimator.
Iterative procedures for parameter estimation based on stochastic gradient descent allow the estimation to scale to massive data sets. However, in both theory and practice, they suffer from numerical instability. Moreover, they are statistically inefficient as estimators of the true parameter value. To address these tw…
PRL improves off-policy evaluation in partially observed MDPs.
problem Confounding and bias in offline reinforcement learning with unobserved state factors.
method Extends proximal causal inference to POMDPs, identifying and estimating target policy value.
result Semiparametrically efficient estimators for PRL in partially observed MDPs.
Deriving and applying Proximal Policy Optimization to GFlowNets for efficient training of discrete sampling policies
problem Training stochastic policies to sample from structured discrete probability distributions
method Deriving policy gradient algorithms for GFlowNets and applying Proximal Policy Optimization
result Improved convergence speed and data efficiency compared to standard GFlowNet training objectives
Proposes variational Gaussian approximations for solving the Kushner equation.
problem Solving the Kushner equation for state estimation with observations.
method Tractable variational Gaussian approximations of proximal losses based on Wasserstein and Fisher metrics.
result The proposed method leads to a Gaussian flow consistent with Kalman-Bucy and Riccati flows.
BCD-prox improves robustness and accuracy in filtering and parameter estimation.
problem Simultaneous filtering and parameter estimation of complex ODE models.
method Block coordinate descent proximal algorithm (BCD-prox) for ODE systems.
result BCD-prox outperforms state-of-the-art methods in robustness, accuracy, and training time.
Paper improves a method for fast global and local convergence in optimization.
problem Slow global convergence in optimization methods with noisy Hessian estimates.
method Stochastic Newton Proximal Extragradient method using HPE framework.
result Faster global linear rate and superlinear convergence in fewer iterations.
A new algorithm solves signed Fréchet regression on manifolds with bounded curvature.
problem Signed Fréchet regression on Riemannian manifolds with bounded curvature.
method Proximal DC algorithm (FRIDA) for computing signed Fréchet regression fits.
result Existence and interiority of minimizers, strong convexity of proximal subproblems, and convergence to stationary points.
We present a distributed proximal-gradient method for optimizing the average of convex functions, each of which is the private local objective of an agent in a network with time-varying topology. The local objectives have distinct differentiable components, but they share a common nondifferentiable component, which has…
New methods improve convergence rate of zeroth-order proximal stochastic algorithms.
problem Nonconvex nonsmooth optimization problems with infeasible gradients.
method ZO-ProxSVRG and ZO-ProxSAGA with variance reduction techniques.
result Convergence rate improved to O ( 1 T ) O(\frac{1}{T}) O ( T 1 ) from O ( 1 T ) O(\frac{1}{\sqrt{T}}) O ( T 1 ) . A new method reduces bias in adaptive Lasso estimates.
problem Bias in adaptive Lasso estimates.
method Proximal gradient approach to learn penalty coefficients as decision variables.
result Reduces bias in estimates and encourages arbitrary sparsity structure.
We consider the class of optimization problems arising from computationally intensive L1-regularized M-estimators, where the function or gradient values are very expensive to compute. A particular instance of interest is the L1-regularized MLE for learning Conditional Random Fields (CRFs), which are a popular class of …
Method uses NMF for clustering with partial distance measurements.
problem Proximity clustering with partial distance measurements.
method Nyström approximation with Nonnegative Matrix Factorization.
result Find nearly optimal clustering quality on synthetic and real-world data.
Noise-free sampling method using Wasserstein proximal for faster convergence.
problem Sampling from distributions governed by potential functions.
method Deterministic score-based MCMC with regularized Wasserstein proximal.
result Improved mixing time bounds for Gaussian distributions compared to ULA and MALA.
New method decomposes local projections to reveal historical drivers of estimates.
problem Uncertainty in interpreting local projections due to black-box nature.
method Decomposes LP estimates into contributions of historical events, interpreting weights as shocks and proximity scores.
result Dominant historical events drive impulse response estimates, revealing underlying mechanisms.
RFX accelerates and compresses Random Forests for large datasets.
problem Memory bottleneck in proximity matrices limits Random Forest analysis.
method QLORA compression, CPU TriBlock storage, GPU batch sizing, 3D MDS visualization.
result Proximity-based Random Forest analysis on larger datasets is feasible.
Algorithm estimates sparse signals from linear measurements, improving recovery guarantees.
problem Estimating gradient-sparse signals from noisy linear measurements.
method Iterative alpha expansion with proximal descent and geometric penalty decay.
result Global recovery guarantees under cut-restricted isometry property for Gaussian designs.
This paper accelerates TV regularization algorithms by unrolling proximal gradient descent.
problem Solving Total Variation (TV) regularized problems with iterative algorithms.
method Unrolling proximal gradient descent solvers to learn their parameters.
result Two approaches to compute derivatives through proximal operators improve performance.
Develops methods for personalized treatment decisions in the presence of unmeasured factors.
problem Personalized treatment decisions in the presence of unmeasured confounding.
method Proximal learning approaches to estimate optimal individualized treatment regimes (ITRs).
result Established identification results for different classes of ITRs, improving decision-making value function.
The estimation of multivariate GARCH time series models is a difficult task mainly due to the significant overparameterization exhibited by the problem and usually referred to as the "curse of dimensionality". For example, in the case of the VEC family, the number of parameters involved in the model grows as a polynomi…
New method approximates M-estimator and predictions without solving fixed-point equations.
problem Characterize behavior of M-estimator and predictions in single index models.
method Develops data-driven observable adjustments to proximal operators.
result Empirical distributions of M-estimator and predictions are approximated without solving fixed-point equations.
Extends robust methods for causal inference, improving estimator performance.
problem Estimating causal effects in the presence of latent confounders.
method Minimax kernel machine learning for doubly robust functionals.
result Proposed method leads to robust and high-performance estimators.
Randomized SINDy learns dynamic data structures using probabilistic methods.
problem Learning time-dependent data structures in dynamic systems.
method Sequential machine learning with a probabilistic approach, incorporating feature augmentation and Tikhonov regularization.
result Demonstrated effectiveness in regression and binary classification using real-world data.
In machine learning research, the proximal gradient methods are popular for solving various optimization problems with non-smooth regularization. Inexact proximal gradient methods are extremely important when exactly solving the proximal operator is time-consuming, or the proximal operator does not have an analytic sol…
Improves time series classification with forest proximities.
problem Time series classification accuracy and efficiency.
method PF-GAP, an extension of RF-GAP proximities to proximity forests, combined with Multi-Dimensional Scaling and Local Outlier Factors.
result Forest proximities show stronger connection between misclassified points and outliers.
Improved sampling guarantees for weakly log-concave distributions.
problem Sampling from distributions that are not strongly log-concave.
method Proximal sampler with convergence guarantees under weaker assumptions.
result New state-of-the-art sampling guarantees for various target distributions.
We propose a Generalized Dantzig Selector (GDS) for linear models, in which any norm encoding the parameter structure can be leveraged for estimation. We investigate both computational and statistical aspects of the GDS. Based on conjugate proximal operator, a flexible inexact ADMM framework is designed for solving GDS…