Related papers: Stochastic Training of Neural Networks via Success…
This paper proposes a constrained stochastic successive convex approximation (CSSCA) algorithm to find a stationary point for a general non-convex stochastic optimization problem, whose objective and constraint functions are non-convex and…
We study stochastic optimization of nonconvex loss functions, which are typical objectives for training neural networks. We propose stochastic approximation algorithms which optimize a series of regularized, nonlinearized losses on large…
We study distributed stochastic nonconvex optimization in multi-agent networks. We introduce a novel algorithmic framework for the distributed minimization of the sum of the expected value of a smooth (possibly nonconvex) function (the…
This work considers the decentralized successive convex approximation (SCA) method for minimizing stochastic non-convex objectives subject to convex constraints, along with possibly non-smooth convex regularizers. Although SCA has been…
This paper contributes to a development of randomized methods for neural networks. The proposed learner model is generated incrementally by stochastic configuration (SC) algorithms, termed as Stochastic Configuration Networks (SCNs). In…
One key challenge for solving a general stochastic optimization problem with expectations in the objective and constraint functions using ordinary stochastic iterative methods lies in the infeasibility issue caused by the randomness over…
We consider stochastic optimization problems with non-convex functional constraints, such as those arising in trajectory generation, sparse approximation, and robust classification. To this end, we put forth a recursive momentum-based…
In this two-part paper, we propose a general algorithmic framework for the minimization of a nonconvex smooth function subject to nonconvex smooth constraints. The algorithm solves a sequence of (separable) strongly convex problems and…
We consider stochastic optimization of a smooth non-convex loss function with a convex non-smooth regularizer. In the online setting, where a single sample of the stochastic gradient of the loss is available at every iteration, the problem…
Due to the non-convex nature of training Deep Neural Network (DNN) models, their effectiveness relies on the use of non-convex optimization heuristics. Traditional methods for training DNNs often require costly empirical methods to produce…
In this paper, we introduce a new stochastic approximation (SA) type algorithm, namely the randomized stochastic gradient (RSG) method, for solving an important class of nonlinear (possibly nonconvex) stochastic programming (SP) problems.…
Training neural networks requires optimizing a loss function that may be highly irregular, and in particular neither convex nor smooth. Popular training algorithms are based on stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM), for which…
Subgradient algorithms for training support vector machines have been quite successful for solving large-scale and online learning problems. However, they have been restricted to linear kernels and strongly convex formulations. This paper…
In this paper, we carry out numerical analysis to prove convergence of a novel sample-wise back-propagation method for training a class of stochastic neural networks (SNNs). The structure of the SNN is formulated as discretization of a…
Training neural networks involves solving large-scale non-convex optimization problems. This task has long been believed to be extremely difficult, with fear of local minima and other obstacles motivating a variety of schemes to improve…
This paper presents the SCvx algorithm, a successive convexification algorithm designed to solve non-convex constrained optimal control problems with global convergence and superlinear convergence-rate guarantees. The proposed algorithm can…
Asynchronous distributed algorithms are a popular way to reduce synchronization costs in large-scale optimization, and in particular for neural network training. However, for nonsmooth and nonconvex objectives, few convergence guarantees…
Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in parallel and distributed optimization methods for large-scale systems. In particular, nonconvex large-scale optimization problems have found a wide range of applications in several…
Training a neural network (NN) typically relies on some type of curve-following method, such as gradient descent (GD) (and stochastic gradient descent (SGD)), ADADELTA, ADAM or limited memory algorithms. Convergence for these algorithms…
In this paper, we propose a successive convex approximation framework for sparse optimization where the nonsmooth regularization function in the objective function is nonconvex and it can be written as the difference of two convex…