提出新型核方法量化公平与准确的权衡,统一分析三种公平准则。
Kernel-based Equalized Odds: A Quantification of Accuracy-Fairness Trade-off in Fair Representation Learning
- 基于核方法构建等机会公平新度量 $EO_k$,可同时衡量独立性、分离性和校准性。
- 在目标变量与敏感属性相关时,仍能保持预测准确并下界约束其他公平指标。
- 提供可计算的统计量 $\\(hat{EO}_k$ 及误差界,适合用于算法公平性验证。
本文提出一种新的基于核的等机会(Equalized Odds, EO)准则 $EO_k$,用于监督学习中的公平表示学习(FRL)。FRL的核心目标是在缓解敏感属性 $S$ 引发的歧视的同时,保持对目标变量 $Y$ 的预测准确性。所提准则能严格且可解释地量化三大核心公平目标:独立性(预测 $\hat{Y}$ 与 $S$ 独立)、分离性(即等机会;$\hat{Y}$ 与 $S$ 条件于 $Y$ 独立)和校准性($Y$ 与 $S$ 条件于 $\hat{Y}$ 独立)。无论 $Y$ 与 $S$ 是否独立,$EO_k$ 均能在前者满足独立性与分离性,在后者唯一保留预测准确性,并对独立性和校准性给出下界,从而实现对各类公平准则间权衡的统一理论刻画。进一步定义了经验版本 $\hat{EO}_k$,可在二次时间计算,亦有线性时间近似方法。推导出 $\hat{EO}_k$ 的浓度不等式,提供性能保证与误差界,作为公平合规性的实际证书。尽管聚焦理论,但为未来可证明公平的算法设计奠定基础。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
This paper introduces a novel kernel-based formulation of the Equalized Odds (EO) criterion, denoted as $EO_k$, for fair representation learning (FRL) in supervised settings. The central goal of FRL is to mitigate discrimination regarding a sensitive attribute $S$ while preserving prediction accuracy for the target variable $Y$. Our proposed criterion enables a rigorous and interpretable quantification of three core fairness objectives: independence (prediction $\hat{Y}$ is independent of $S$), separation (also known as equalized odds; prediction $\hat{Y}$ is independent with $S$ conditioned on target attribute $Y$), and calibration ($Y$ is independent of $S$ conditioned on the prediction $\hat{Y}$). Under both unbiased ($Y$ is independent of $S$) and biased ($Y$ depends on $S$) conditions, we show that $EO_k$ satisfies both independence and separation in the former, and uniquely preserves predictive accuracy while lower bounding independence and calibration in the latter, thereby offering a unified analytical characterization of the tradeoffs among these fairness criteria. We further define the empirical counterpart, $\hat{EO}_k$, a kernel-based statistic that can be computed in quadratic time, with linear-time approximations also available. A concentration inequality for $\hat{EO}_k$ is derived, providing performance guarantees and error bounds, which serve as practical certificates of fairness compliance. While our focus is on theoretical development, the results lay essential groundwork for principled and provably fair algorithmic design in future empirical studies.
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