arXiv Machine Learning

Direct Regret Optimization in Bayesian Optimization

arXiv Statistics ML
6d ago

IQS-BO: In-Context Query Selection for Bayesian Optimisation

IQS-BO introduces an in‑context query selection method for Bayesian optimisation that learns to choose evaluation points via supervised learning on synthetic priors. The approach uses a Prior‑data Fitted Network (PFN) to predict, in a single forward pass, the probability that each candidate maximises the objective, thereby amortising the decision step and eliminating the need for costly surrogate refitting or acquisition maximisation. Experiments show that IQS‑BO matches or surpasses traditional Gaussian‑process‑based BO and other in‑context methods on both synthetic and real‑world benchmarks, and that a mixture prior combining GP samples with challenging function types further improves performance.

By Luca Geminiani, Nadja Klein
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
Aug 27

Fast rates in Bayesian online learning with approximate posteriors

The paper investigates how fast predictive regret guarantees of exact Bayesian online learning can be maintained when using approximate posterior methods. It establishes a general theorem linking the cumulative cost of posterior approximation to the contraction radius of the exact Gibbs posterior and the Wasserstein distance between approximate and exact posteriors. Three concrete online learning scenarios—linear models, infinite‑dimensional exponential families, and Gaussian process regression—illustrate that appropriately accurate approximations (projected Langevin, truncation, and sparse variational posteriors) preserve fast regret bounds while reducing computational demands.

By Ilsang Ohn
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 27

Gradient-based Sample Selection for Faster Bayesian Optimization

The paper introduces Gradient-based Sample Selection Bayesian Optimization (GSSBO), a method that builds the Gaussian process surrogate on a strategically chosen subset of samples rather than the full dataset. By using gradient information to eliminate redundant points while keeping diversity and representativeness, GSSBO achieves sublinear regret bounds and reduces the cubic computational cost of standard BO. Experiments on synthetic and real-world tasks show that this approach maintains comparable optimization performance while significantly cutting GP fitting time and resource usage.

By Qiyu Wei, Haowei Wang, Zirui Cao, Songhao Wang, Richard Allmendinger, Mauricio A \'Alvarez
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 2

Local Preferential Bayesian Optimization

arXiv:2606. 02351v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Bayesian optimization (BO) is a popular and effective approach for tuning expensive, noisy experiments, but requires the formulation of an explicit objective function.

By Johanna Menn, Miriam Kober, Paul Brunzema, David Stenger, Sebastian Trimpe