arXiv Machine Learning

A Probabilistic Framework for Learnable Optimization Algorithms

arXiv:2408. 11629v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We propose a statistical-learning framework for optimization algorithms.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 9

Improving Bayesian Optimization via Training-Aware Conditional Diffusion Models

arXiv:2606. 08438v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Bayesian optimization (BO) is a widely used approach for black-box optimization that uses a Gaussian process (GP) as a surrogate and guides sequential evaluations via an acquisition function, with the ultimate goal of locating the global optimum $\mathbf{x}^{\star}$.

By Yilin Zheng, Haowei Wang, Szu Hui Ng, Enlu Zhou
arXiv Machine Learning
4d ago

Learning Distributionally Robust First-Order Methods for Convex Optimization

The paper introduces a distributionally robust method for learning hyperparameters of first‑order convex optimization algorithms. By minimizing a Wasserstein‑robust performance estimation problem over a dataset of problem instances, the approach interpolates between classical learning‑to‑optimize (L2O) and worst‑case PEP design. The authors solve the resulting problem with stochastic gradient descent, provide high‑probability risk bounds, and demonstrate that the learned algorithms outperform both worst‑case optimal and vanilla L2O baselines on logistic regression, LASSO, and linear programming tasks.

By Vinit Ranjan, Jisun Park, Bartolomeo Stellato
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 17

Curvature-aware Expected Free Energy as an Acquisition Function for Bayesian Optimization

The paper introduces a curvature‑aware Expected Free Energy (EFE) acquisition function for Bayesian optimization, designed to jointly learn and optimize an underlying function. It demonstrates that, under certain assumptions, EFE reduces to familiar criteria such as Upper Confidence Bound, Lower Confidence Bound, and Expected Information Gain, and provides unbiased convergence guarantees for concave functions. Empirical results on a Van der Pol oscillator system identification task and a two‑dimensional oscillatory benchmark show that the adaptive EFE achieves competitive performance in both regret and mean squared error, outperforming typical acquisition functions that excel in only one metric.

By Ajith Anil Meera, Wouter Kouw
arXiv Statistics ML
Sep 11

Learning-Based Surrogate Method for Stochastic Optimization under Decision-Dependent Uncertainty with Adaptive Random Designs

The paper introduces a learning-based surrogate approach for stochastic optimization problems where uncertainty depends on the decision, modeled via a nonparametric regression. It constructs a surrogate that embeds iteratively updated Jacobian estimates, using an adaptive random design that focuses sampling near the current iterate to achieve dimension‑independent convergence of the Jacobian estimates. The resulting learning‑based stochastic prox‑linear (L‑SPL) algorithm demonstrates nonasymptotic convergence rates and outperforms existing methods in sample efficiency and objective value in numerical experiments.

By Boyang Shen, Junyi Liu
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 8

$\alpha$-PFN: Fast Entropy Search via In-Context Learning

arXiv:2606. 07134v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Information-theoretic acquisition functions such as Entropy Search (ES) offer a principled exploration-exploitation framework for Bayesian optimization (BO).

By Herilalaina Rakotoarison, Steven Adriaensen, Tom Viering, Carl Hvarfner, Samuel M\"uller, Frank Hutter, Eytan Bakshy
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 18

Expected Hypervolume Maximization for Multiobjective Optimization under Uncertainties

The paper proposes a Bayesian decision framework for multiobjective optimization under uncertainty, focusing on maximizing the expected hypervolume over a finite set of input points. It demonstrates that gradient‑based stochastic optimization can be applied, especially when dominated points are handled carefully, and suggests using Gaussian Processes as differentiable surrogate models when direct gradients are unavailable. Additionally, the authors introduce active learning strategies via acquisition functions to build surrogate models tailored to the multiobjective problem and evaluate these strategies on simple analytical benchmarks.

By Victor Trappler (Mines Saint-\'Etienne MSE, LIMOS, FAYOL-ENSMSE, FAYOL-ENSMSE)
arXiv AI
Aug 20

Automated Computational Energy Minimization of ML Algorithms using Constrained Bayesian Optimization

The paper presents a method that uses Constrained Bayesian Optimization (CBO) to minimize the energy consumption of machine learning models while ensuring their generalization performance stays above a specified threshold. By treating energy usage as the primary objective and performance as a constraint, the authors demonstrate that CBO can reduce training energy costs on both regression and classification tasks without sacrificing predictive accuracy.

By Pallavi Mitra, Felix Biessmann