New mechanisms improve differential privacy for scalar queries.
problem Improving differential privacy for scalar, real-valued query functions.
method Mixing multiple Gaussian distributions to satisfy differential privacy.
result Mechanisms yield lower noise amplitudes and variances compared to the analytic Gaussian mechanism.
We formulate a private learning model to study an intrinsic tradeoff between privacy and query complexity in sequential learning. Our model involves a learner who aims to determine a scalar value, v∗, by sequentially querying an external database and receiving binary responses. In the meantime, an adversary observes…
We study the query complexity of a learner-private sequential learning problem, motivated by the privacy and security concerns due to eavesdropping that arise in practical applications such as pricing and Federated Learning. A learner tries to estimate an unknown scalar value, by sequentially querying an external datab…
Differential privacy mechanism design has traditionally been tailored for a scalar-valued query function. Although many mechanisms such as the Laplace and Gaussian mechanisms can be extended to a matrix-valued query function by adding i.i.d. noise to each element of the matrix, this method is often suboptimal as it for…
Solves TOD systems' query annotation problem without explicit annotations.
problem Training TOD systems without explicit KB query annotation.
method Reinforcement learning (RL) and pipelined approach for query prediction and system training.
result Improved RL agent with modifications for TOD tasks.
The paper tackles sequential mode estimation with oracle queries.
problem Adaptively PAC-learning a probability distribution's mode.
method Two query models: index queries and pair queries. Sequential algorithms for mode estimation.
result Lower bounds on optimal query complexity for both models.
Study exact community recovery in noisy SBM with limited queries.
problem Community recovery in noisy stochastic block models with limited queries.
method Balanced uniform querying, two-stage adaptive strategy, sublinear queries, subsampled graph.
result Adaptive querying can improve exact recovery limits in noisy SBM.
Efficiently classifies binary labels with XOR queries, even under noisy conditions.
problem Binary classification with unknown labels using XOR queries.
method Effective query type and an efficient inference algorithm for noisy conditions.
result Achieves information-theoretic limit on optimal number of queries.
Proposes a new query autocompletion method that maximizes retrieval performance.
problem Users often select suboptimal queries due to unknown best retrieval performance.
method Formulates query autocompletion as ranking item rankings, uses counterfactual learning.
result Empirical results show improved query suggestions for better retrieval performance.
Adapts large transformer model for search query intent understanding.
problem Understanding and predicting user intents from search queries.
method Adapts BERT-like architecture for search queries, accounts for query noisiness and sparseness.
result Builds a shareable deep learning model for query intent identification.
A new method for private query release using Johnson-Lindenstrauss projection.
problem Private release of query answers with minimal privacy loss.
method Random projection of query answers to a lower dimension, followed by noise addition.
result Optimal worst-case sample complexity for answering a workload of k queries.
LAZO reduces query complexity and variance in ZO methods.
problem High query complexity and variance in zeroth-order optimization.
method LAZO uses adaptive lazy queries to reduce variance and save queries.
result LAZO achieves lower regret and query complexity compared to existing methods.
Estimates heavy hitters in data streams with queries, balancing accuracy and efficiency.
problem Identifying elements with high probability in i.i.d. samples.
method Sequential estimation algorithms for two query models: index and pair queries.
result Upper and lower bounds on query complexity for different distributions and noise models.
Query2box embeds complex queries as boxes to handle logical operations in large KGs.
problem Handling complex logical queries on large-scale incomplete knowledge graphs.
method Embed KG entities and queries into a vector space as boxes, handling conjunctions as intersections and disjunctions through Disjunctive Normal Form.
result Query2box achieves up to 25% relative improvement over state-of-the-art methods.
Study modular concept learning with different oracle interfaces.
problem Learning a concept that is a cross product of component concepts.
method Analyze different types of oracle interfaces and queries.
result Modular concept learning is easier with positive examples and membership queries.
Survey of statistical queries and their applications.
problem Understanding statistical queries and their applications.
method Exploration of statistical queries model, definitions, and connections to learnability.
result Connections to learnability and applications in optimization, evolvability, and differential privacy.
Source coding is the canonical problem of data compression in information theory. In a locally encodable source coding, each compressed bit depends on only few bits of the input. In this paper, we show that a recently popular model of semi-supervised clustering is equivalent to locally encodable source coding. In this …
Lower bounds on queries for Bayesian private learning.
problem Estimating a target within error ε while keeping it hidden from an adversary.
method Lower bound proof using Fano's inequality and proportional-sampling estimators.
result Query complexity is on the order of Llog(1/ε) for accurate estimation. A new query embedding method improves KB performance on complex queries.
problem QE systems disagree with deductive reasoning on some queries.
method A novel QE method more faithful to deductive reasoning.
result Better performance on complex queries to incomplete KBs.
AdaWISH improves efficiency of discrete integration queries.
problem Efficiently solving discrete integration in high-dimensional spaces.
method Adaptive quantile queries to reduce query count.
result AdaWISH achieves the same approximation guarantee with fewer queries.
In this paper we study the adaptive learnability of decision trees of depth at most d from membership queries. This has many applications in automated scientific discovery such as drugs development and software update problem. Feldman solves the problem in a randomized polynomial time algorithm that asks $\tilde O(2^…
We study black-box attacks on machine learning classifiers where each query to the model incurs some cost or risk of detection to the adversary. We focus explicitly on minimizing the number of queries as a major objective. Specifically, we consider the problem of attacking machine learning classifiers subject to a budg…
Fairly allocate items with noisy queries, reducing envy.
problem Fairly allocate indivisible goods with unknown valuations.
method Use Gaussian noisy queries to find an envy-free allocation.
result The optimal number of queries scales as \( \frac{m^{2.5}}{Δ^2} \) for large negative-envy.
This paper models the crowdsourced labeling/classification problem as a sparsely encoded source coding problem, where each query answer, regarded as a code bit, is the XOR of a small number of labels, as source information bits. In this paper we leverage the connections between this problem and well-studied codes with …
Thermal preferences vary from person to person and may change over time. The main objective of this paper is to sequentially pose intelligent queries to occupants in order to optimally learn the indoor air temperature values which maximize their satisfaction. Our central hypothesis is that an occupant's preference rela…
In query learning, the goal is to identify an unknown object while minimizing the number of "yes" or "no" questions (queries) posed about that object. A well-studied algorithm for query learning is known as generalized binary search (GBS). We show that GBS is a greedy algorithm to optimize the expected number of querie…
We introduce new combinatorial quantities for concept classes, and prove lower and upper bounds for learning complexity in several models of query learning in terms of various combinatorial quantities. Our approach is flexible and powerful enough to enough to give new and very short proofs of the efficient learnability…
The paper tackles learning smooth distance functions using query-based methods.
problem Learning smooth distance functions under query constraints.
method Global and local approaches using Mahalanobis distance functions.
result Quadratic query complexity for both additive and multiplicative approximations.
Efficiently tests two distributions with few label queries.
problem Two-sample test with limited label information.
method Three-stage framework: classifier training, bimodal query, FR test.
result Significantly reduces Type II error compared to uniform querying.
This work sets lower bounds on the number of score queries needed for diffusion sampling.
problem Establishing information-theoretic limits on the number of score evaluations required for diffusion sampling.
method Proving lower bounds on the number of adaptive score queries needed for sampling.
result Any sampling algorithm requires at least \(\widetilde{\Omega}(\sqrt{d})\) adaptive score queries for \(d\)-dimensional distributions.
Most content-based image retrieval systems consider either one single query, or multiple queries that include the same object or represent the same semantic information. In this paper we consider the content-based image retrieval problem for multiple query images corresponding to different image semantics. We propose a…
Improves model classification accuracy in black-box settings.
problem Difficulty in inferring model properties due to limited query access.
method Introduces discriminative factorization to distinguish high-quality queries.
result Probability of chance-level classification decreases exponentially with query budget.
Improved algorithm for selecting a hypothesis locally privately with fewer queries.
problem Locally private hypothesis selection with minimal privacy-preserving queries.
method Introduces a Scheffé graph to reduce query complexity for hypothesis selection.
result Algorithm performs O~(k3/2) queries, improving on previous methods. New method speeds up causal sensitivity analysis.
problem Bounding causal effects in unobserved confounding.
method Amortized approach using prior-data fitted networks.
result Orders of magnitude faster computation.
In query learning, the goal is to identify an unknown object while minimizing the number of "yes or no" questions (queries) posed about that object. We consider three extensions of this fundamental problem that are motivated by practical considerations in real-world, time-critical identification tasks such as emergency…
Study learns linear utility functions from comparisons, showing learnability gaps between passive and active learning.
problem Learn linear utility functions from pairwise comparison queries.
method Analyzes passive and active learning settings, considering noise-free and noisy query responses.
result Efficient learnability of linear utilities in passive learning, but not for utility parameters without strong assumptions.
We investigate the problem of active learning on a given tree whose nodes are assigned binary labels in an adversarial way. Inspired by recent results by Guillory and Bilmes, we characterize (up to constant factors) the optimal placement of queries so to minimize the mistakes made on the non-queried nodes. Our query se…
New attacks reduce bad queries in black-box classifiers, improving effectiveness.
problem Evasion attacks often issue many bad queries, which are costly.
method Design new attacks that minimize bad queries while increasing non-bad queries.
result Reduces the number of bad queries by 1.5-7.3 times, improving attack effectiveness.
The paper tests properties of trees in graphical models using covariance queries.
problem Testing properties of trees in graphical models.
method Covariance queries model, randomized tests for tree properties.
result Efficient testing of global tree properties using sub-quadratic number of queries.
LEAQI learns to query an expert less often for noisy guidance.
problem Active imitation learning with noisy guidance to reduce expert query complexity.
method Developed LEAQI, a difference classifier that predicts expert disagreement with noisy heuristic.
result Significantly fewer queries to the expert with comparable or better accuracy.
New memory-query tradeoffs for convex optimization algorithms.
problem Optimizing memory usage for convex optimization algorithms.
method Analyzing randomized first-order algorithms for minimizing convex functions.
result Cutting plane methods are optimal in terms of memory and query complexity.
NP-Attack reduces query counts for black-box adversarial attacks.
problem Efficiency of black-box adversarial attacks is low.
method Uses Neural Process to characterize image structure and find adversarial examples.
result NP-Attack significantly decreases query counts.
New algorithms learn MNL weights efficiently for any slate size.
problem Efficiently learn weights for MNL models given query access.
method Two algorithms: adaptive and non-adaptive, with specific query complexities.
result Optimal query complexities for both adaptive and non-adaptive cases.
Game theory helps machine learn better from adversarial queries.
problem Adversarial evasion in machine learning prediction.
method Repeated Bayesian Sequential Game to balance classifier selection and query type.
result Learner selects appropriate classifier for clean vs. adversarial queries.
We consider the problem of learning a general graph G=(V,E) using edge-detecting queries, where the number of vertices ∣V∣=n is given to the learner. The information theoretic lower bound gives mlogn for the number of queries, where m=∣E∣ is the number of edges. In case the number of edges m is also given t…
Study on how many queries an adversary needs to make to match the best attack in white-box model.
problem Query complexity of adversarial attacks in machine learning models.
method Investigates the number of queries required for an adversary to match the best possible attack in the white-box model, using entropy of decision boundaries as a measure.
result Lower bound on the number of queries required for an adversary to match the best possible attack in the white-box model.
A keyword spotting (KWS) system determines the existence of, usually predefined, keyword in a continuous speech stream. This paper presents a query-by-example on-device KWS system which is user-specific. The proposed system consists of two main steps: query enrollment and testing. In query enrollment step, phonetic pos…
In this paper we address cardinality estimation problem which is an important subproblem in query optimization. Query optimization is a part of every relational DBMS responsible for finding the best way of the execution for the given query. These ways are called plans. The execution time of different plans may differ b…