arXiv:2505.14882cs.LG2025-05被引 1

动态采集多组数据,用主动学习优化均值估计的准确性。

An active learning framework for multi-group mean estimation

  • 基于方差上界选择下一组采样,实现自适应数据收集。
  • 理论证明算法在各类分布下均能显著降低估计噪声。
  • 适合在线实验与临床试验等需公平采样的场景。

我们研究多个未知分布群体的均值估计问题,目标是动态采集数据并确保各组估计的噪声水平合理。在每一轮中,分析师根据带反馈的老虎机机制选择一个群体进行采样,观察样本后更新该组均值和方差估计,并据此决定下一轮的选择。分析师的目标是最小化所有组均值估计方差向量的范数(即集体噪声)。本文提出一种名为Variance-UCB的算法,通过上界估计方差来选择下一组。我们构建了一个通用理论框架,在任意可合理估计方差的分布下提供高效学习保证,所得的后悔上界显著优于现有结果,并扩展了多种新目标与分布下的分析结果。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

We study a fundamental learning problem over multiple groups with unknown data distributions, where an analyst would like to learn the mean of each group. Moreover, we want to ensure that this data is collected in a relatively fair manner such that the noise of the estimate of each group is reasonable. In particular, we focus on settings where data are collected dynamically, which is important in adaptive experimentation for online platforms or adaptive clinical trials for healthcare. In our model, we employ an active learning framework to sequentially collect samples with bandit feedback, observing a sample in each period from the chosen group. After observing a sample, the analyst updates their estimate of the mean and variance of that group and chooses the next group accordingly. The analyst's objective is to dynamically collect samples to minimize the collective noise of the estimators, measured by the norm of the vector of variances of the mean estimators. We propose an algorithm, Variance-UCB, that sequentially selects groups according to an upper confidence bound on the variance estimate. We provide a general theoretical framework for providing efficient bounds on learning from any underlying distribution where the variances can be estimated reasonably. This framework yields upper bounds on regret that improve significantly upon all existing bounds, as well as a collection of new results for different objectives and distributions than those previously studied.

主动学习均值估计在线实验方差控制

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