arXiv:2508.15642cs.LG2025-08被引 2

通过训练全程保证个体公平性,无需事后验证。

Correct-By-Construction: Certified Individual Fairness through Neural Network Training

  • 从公平初始化开始,用随机响应保护敏感属性。
  • 训练中持续保持个体公平,实测准确率高且公平性达标。
  • 适合对公平性有严格要求的高风险场景应用。

机器学习中的公平性问题日益重要。个体公平要求仅在敏感属性不同的个体间应获得相同结果。现有常用算法常无法满足此要求。虽已有方法将公平性作为优化目标,但缺乏形式化保障。现有提供保障的方法多依赖验证技术,有时无法得出确定结论,且验证本身不提升训练过程中的公平性。为此,我们提出一种新框架,在训练全程形式化保证个体公平。该方法包含两部分:(1) 可证明公平的初始化,确保模型从公平状态开始;(2) 公平性保持训练算法,使模型在学习过程中持续保持公平。核心在于使用随机响应机制,在保护敏感属性的同时维持公平性保障。我们形式化证明该机制能贯穿训练全过程保持个体公平。实验表明,本方法有效生成既公平又准确的模型。此外,其效率远高于基于认证训练的替代方案(后者需在训练中进行神经网络验证)。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Fairness in machine learning is more important than ever as ethical concerns continue to grow. Individual fairness demands that individuals differing only in sensitive attributes receive the same outcomes. However, commonly used machine learning algorithms often fail to achieve such fairness. To improve individual fairness, various training methods have been developed, such as incorporating fairness constraints as optimisation objectives. While these methods have demonstrated empirical effectiveness, they lack formal guarantees of fairness. Existing approaches that aim to provide fairness guarantees primarily rely on verification techniques, which can sometimes fail to produce definitive results. Moreover, verification alone does not actively enhance individual fairness during training. To address this limitation, we propose a novel framework that formally guarantees individual fairness throughout training. Our approach consists of two parts, i.e., (1) provably fair initialisation that ensures the model starts in a fair state, and (2) a fairness-preserving training algorithm that maintains fairness as the model learns. A key element of our method is the use of randomised response mechanisms, which protect sensitive attributes while maintaining fairness guarantees. We formally prove that this mechanism sustains individual fairness throughout the training process. Experimental evaluations confirm that our approach is effective, i.e., producing models that are empirically fair and accurate. Furthermore, our approach is much more efficient than the alternative approach based on certified training (which requires neural network verification during training).

个体公平形式化保障随机响应训练保障

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