arXiv Machine Learning

Sharp Structure-Agnostic Minimax Risk for Partial Linear Models

arXiv:2609. 07997v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We characterize the sharp structure-agnostic minimax risk for coefficient estimation in the partial linear model when the outcome and treatment nuisances are learned by two distinct black-box learners, which resolves the open problem in double machine learning posed by Gu (2025).

arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 15

A Complexity Measure for Active Learning in Multi-group Mean Estimation

arXiv:2606. 14690v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We study a \emph{max-risk} objective for active learning in a multi-group mean estimation $d$-armed bandits: a learner adaptively allocates a budget of $T$ samples across $d$ groups to minimize the worst-case uncertainty index $\max_{k\in[d]}\sigma_k^2/n_k$, where $\sigma_k$ is the standard deviation of the distribution of arm $d$, and $n_k$ is the number of times arm $d$ is sampled.

By Abdellah Aznag, Rachel Cummings, Adam N. Elmachtoub
arXiv Statistics ML
Sep 7

Reconciling Universal and Uniform Learning with $Q$-Aggregation

The paper investigates regression with bounded responses, comparing two learning frameworks: model selection aggregation, which requires improper algorithms to achieve minimax excess risk, and universal learning, where empirical risk minimization suffices for exponential learning rates. For finite hypothesis classes, the authors show that the $Q$-aggregation estimator simultaneously attains minimax optimal tails and exponential universal rates, while other common estimators fail to do so. For countably infinite classes, they prove an inherent trade‑off between exponential universal and minimax uniform rates, resolved by combining optimal algorithms from each framework via $Q$-aggregation.

By Mikael M{\o}ller H{\o}gsgaard, Patrick Rebeschini, Tobias Wegel
arXiv Statistics ML
Sep 7

On the Asymptotic Inadmissibility of Double Machine Learning Estimators Under Structure-Agnostic Models

The paper investigates Double Machine Learning (DML) estimators under structure‑agnostic (SA) models, which assume the data‑generating law lies within a neighborhood of fixed machine‑learning estimates. It shows that for two of three studied functionals—the quadratic functional in the Gaussian sequence model and the quadratic density integral functional—the DML estimators are asymptotically inadmissible, being dominated by second‑order empirical higher‑order influence function (HOIF) estimators. For the third functional, the expected conditional covariance, both DML and HOIF estimators remain minimax but neither dominates the other.

By Lin Liu, Rajarshi Mukherjee, James M Robins
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jul 21

The Price of Hidden Curvature: An $\widetildeΩ (d^{5/4} \sqrt{T})$ Lower Bound for Bandit Convex Optimization

We establish a $\widetildeΩ(d^{5/4}\sqrt T)$ lower bound on the minimax expected regret of stochastic bandit convex optimization of $1$-Lipschitz functions on the Euclidean ball. This presents the first nontrivial regret lower bound that grows faster than $d\sqrt{T}$ for this problem, establishing that stochastic bandit convex optimization is fundamentally harder than linear bandits.