Related papers: A Simple Measure of Robustness for External Validi…
We study the out-of-sample properties of robust empirical optimization problems with smooth $\phi$-divergence penalties and smooth concave objective functions, and develop a theory for data-driven calibration of the non-negative "robustness…
We consider evaluating and training a new policy for the evaluation data by using the historical data obtained from a different policy. The goal of off-policy evaluation (OPE) is to estimate the expected reward of a new policy over the…
The robustness of algorithms against covariate shifts is a fundamental problem with critical implications for the deployment of machine learning algorithms in the real world. Current evaluation methods predominantly measure robustness…
Distance covariance is a popular measure of dependence between random variables. It has some robustness properties, but not all. We prove that the influence function of the usual distance covariance is bounded, but that its breakdown value…
Suppose we want to estimate a total effect with covariate adjustment in a linear structural equation model. We have a causal graph to decide what covariates to adjust for, but are uncertain about the graph. Here, we propose a testing…
We consider the problem of estimating personalized treatment policies that are "externally valid" or "generalizable": they perform well in target populations that differ from the experimental (or training) population from which the data are…
Study samples often differ from the target populations of inference and policy decisions in non-random ways. Researchers typically believe that such departures from random sampling -- due to changes in the population over time and space, or…
A significant obstacle in the development of robust machine learning models is covariate shift, a form of distribution shift that occurs when the input distributions of the training and test sets differ while the conditional label…
Performance estimation under covariate shift is a crucial component of safe AI model deployment, especially for sensitive use-cases. Recently, several solutions were proposed to tackle this problem, most leveraging model predictions or…
Consider a scenario where we have access to train data with both covariates and outcomes while test data only contains covariates. In this scenario, our primary aim is to predict the missing outcomes of the test data. With this objective in…
Study populations are typically sampled from limited points in space and time, and marginalized groups are underrepresented. To assess the external validity of randomized and observational studies, we propose and evaluate the worst-case…
Randomized trials are widely considered as the gold standard for evaluating the effects of decision policies. Trial data is, however, drawn from a population which may differ from the intended target population and this raises a problem of…
Most machine learning models operate under the assumption that the training, testing and deployment data is independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). This assumption doesn't generally hold true in a natural setting. Usually, the…
External validity is often questionable in empirical research, especially in randomized experiments due to the trade-off between internal validity and external validity. To quantify the robustness of external validity, one must first…
The performance of decision policies and prediction models often deteriorates when applied to environments different from the ones seen during training. To ensure reliable operation, we analyze the stability of a system under distribution…
Measuring the stability of conclusions derived from Ordinary Least Squares linear regression is critically important, but most metrics either only measure local stability (i.e. against infinitesimal changes in the data), or are only…
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for evaluating causal effects but are often costly and difficult to scale; consequently, they are frequently augmented with auxiliary external controls in many applications. Prior…
Many existing approaches to generalizing statistical inference amidst distribution shift operate under the covariate shift assumption, which posits that the conditional distribution of unobserved variables given observable ones is invariant…
Covariate shift, a widely used assumption in tackling {\it distributional shift} (when training and test distributions differ), focuses on scenarios where the distribution of the labels conditioned on the feature vector is the same, but the…
We study issues related to external validity for treatment effects using over 100 replications of the Angrist and Evans (1998) natural experiment on the effects of sibling sex composition on fertility and labor supply. The replications are…