arXiv Machine Learning

Sum-of-Squares Degree Barriers for the Reweighted-Hinge Method in Robust Halfspace Learning: A Christoffel-Function Characterization

arXiv:2606. 17215v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: A certificate that removes outliers sees the data only through its low-degree moments, and an adversary exploits exactly this, hiding corruption where the clean data already looks typical, in the blind spot no bounded-degree test resolves.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 19

Beyond Averaging in John Ellipsoid Approximation: High-Accuracy Algorithms in the Leverage-Score Model

arXiv:2606. 20082v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The John ellipsoid of a symmetric polytope $P=\{\mathbf{x}\in\mathbb{R}^d:\|\mathbf{A}\mathbf{x}\|_\infty\le1\}$, $\mathbf{A}\in\mathbb{R}^{n\times d}$, is computed by a long line of leverage-score algorithms, from Cohen, Cousins, Lee and Yang (COLT 2019) to its successors [WY24, CLS+25], all reaching a $(1+\varepsilon)$-approximation in $\Theta(\varepsilon^{-1}\log(n/d))$ iterations.

By Xiaoyu Li, Junwei Yu, Jiaojiao Jiang, Junbin Gao, Andi Han
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 12

Optimistic Rates for Multiclass PAC Learning

arXiv:2608. 10869v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Worst-case multiclass bounds do not become smaller when the best classifier is already nearly correct: what is missing is an optimistic rate, a guarantee whose fluctuation scales with the oracle risk itself.

By Xiaoyu Li, Andi Han, Jiaojiao Jiang, Junbin Gao
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Aug 5

The Sample Complexity of Distributionally Robust PAC Learning under Cressie--Read Divergences

We study distributionally robust PAC learning for the $0$--$1$-loss, where adversarial perturbations of the data distribution are constrained by a Cressie--Read divergence of order $k>1$ and radius $ρ\geq 0$. For hypothesis classes with VC dimension $d$, we establish realizable and agnostic sample-complexity bounds tight up to constant and logarithmic factors, respectively; ordinary empirical risk minimization attains both rates up to logarithmic factors.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 3

Smoothed Analysis for Learning Concepts with Low Intrinsic Dimension

arXiv:2407. 00966v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: In traditional models of supervised learning, the goal of a learner-- given examples from an arbitrary joint distribution on $\mathbb{R}^d \times \{\pm 1\}$-- is to output a hypothesis that is competitive (to within $\epsilon$) of the best fitting concept from some class.

By Gautam Chandrasekaran, Adam Klivans, Vasilis Kontonis, Raghu Meka, Konstantinos Stavropoulos
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 17

Efficient Robust Learning at the Information-Theoretic Limit

The paper presents a polynomial‑time algorithm for robustly learning Boolean concept classes with respect to a fixed distribution, achieving the optimal error rate of η + ε where η is the noise rate. It builds on Blanc’s earlier, computationally inefficient algorithm and introduces no‑regret learners to overcome the previous limitations. Additionally, the authors provide an efficient method that does not require an ERM oracle for any function class admitting sandwiching polynomials under hypercontractive distributions, including a first polynomial‑time solution for learning halfspaces with Gaussian marginals at error η + ε.

By Adam R. Klivans, Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Sergei Tikhonov, Arsen Vasilyan
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 19

Detecting and Discriminating Operator Misspecification in Hybrid PDE-Parameter Learning: a Reference-Free Instrument, with Discrimination Bounded In Sample

The paper introduces a reference‑free instrument that, from a single fit and without an oracle, can detect whether a hybrid PDE‑parameter estimator’s assumed operator is misspecified and distinguish this from mere parameter unidentifiability. In a self‑adjoint parabolic inverse problem, the proposed information‑matrix statistic correctly identifies misspecification with low false‑positive rates, while remaining silent when the design is correctly specified but non‑identifiable. The study demonstrates that conventional accuracy checks can miss significant operator errors, and it maps out the instrument’s blind spots and conditions under which its guarantees hold.

By Eric Fock