Related papers: Query Complexity of Derivative-Free Optimization
It has recently been shown that many of the existing quasi-Newton algorithms can be formulated as learning algorithms, capable of learning local models of the cost functions. Importantly, this understanding allows us to safely start…
This review presents modern gradient-free methods to solve convex optimization problems. By gradient-free methods, we mean those that use only (noisy) realizations of the objective value. We are motivated by various applications where…
We present approximation theories and efficient training methods for derivative-informed Fourier neural operators (DIFNOs) with applications to PDE-constrained optimization. A DIFNO is an FNO trained by minimizing its prediction error…
We address the problem of zero-order optimization from noisy observations for an objective function satisfying the Polyak-{\L}ojasiewicz or the strong convexity condition. Additionally, we assume that the objective function has an additive…
Variational inference is becoming more and more popular for approximating intractable posterior distributions in Bayesian statistics and machine learning. Meanwhile, a few recent works have provided theoretical justification and new…
The Low Order-Value Optimization (LOVO) problem involves minimizing the minimum among a finite number of function values within a feasible set. LOVO has several practical applications such as robust parameter estimation, protein alignment,…
This letter presents an almost sure convergence of the zeroth-order mirror descent algorithm. The algorithm admits non-smooth convex functions and a biased oracle which only provides noisy function value at any desired point. We approximate…
Many machine learning solutions are framed as optimization problems which rely on good hyperparameters. Algorithms for tuning these hyperparameters usually assume access to exact solutions to the underlying learning problem, which is…
Approximate bi-level optimization (ABLO) consists of (outer-level) optimization problems, involving numerical (inner-level) optimization loops. While ABLO has many applications across deep learning, it suffers from time and memory…
In derivative-free and blackbox optimization, the objective function is often evaluated through the execution of a computer program seen as a blackbox. It can be noisy, in the sense that its outputs are contaminated by random errors.…
This paper considers a class of distributed bilevel optimization (DBO) problems with a coupled inner-level subproblem. Existing approaches typically rely on hypergradient estimations involving computationally expensive Hessian evaluation.…
This paper investigates projection-free algorithms for stochastic constrained multi-level optimization. In this context, the objective function is a nested composition of several smooth functions, and the decision set is closed and convex.…
We propose a Bayesian optimization algorithm for objective functions that are sums or integrals of expensive-to-evaluate functions, allowing noisy evaluations. These objective functions arise in multi-task Bayesian optimization for tuning…
Distributionally robust optimization (DRO) is a widely used framework for optimizing objective functionals in the presence of both randomness and model-form uncertainty. A key step in the practical solution of many DRO problems is a…
Derivative-free optimization algorithms are particularly useful for tackling blackbox optimization problems where the objective function arises from complex and expensive procedures that preclude the use of classical gradient-based methods.…
We consider Online Convex Optimization (OCO) in the setting where the costs are $m$-strongly convex and the online learner pays a switching cost for changing decisions between rounds. We show that the recently proposed Online Balanced…
We investigate the fundamental optimization question of minimizing a target function $f$, whose gradients are expensive to compute or have limited availability, given access to some auxiliary side function $h$ whose gradients are cheap or…
It is commonly believed that Bayesian optimization (BO) algorithms are highly efficient for optimizing numerically costly functions. However, BO is not often compared to widely different alternatives, and is mostly tested on narrow sets of…
Recent studies have shown that many nonconvex machine learning problems satisfy a generalized-smooth condition that extends beyond traditional smooth nonconvex optimization. However, the existing algorithms are not fully adapted to such…
We consider the problem of training machine learning models on distributed data in a decentralized way. For finite-sum problems, fast single-machine algorithms for large datasets rely on stochastic updates combined with variance reduction.…