arXiv:2509.01730cs.LGcs.CV2025-09

用持续学习缓解模型偏见,不让优势群体性能下降

BM-CL: Bias Mitigation through the lens of Continual Learning

  • 将偏见缓解视为持续学习问题,渐进调整公平性
  • 在真实与合成图像数据集上降低偏见,同时保留原性能
  • 适合关注公平性与模型稳定性平衡的研究者

机器学习中的偏见带来显著挑战,尤其当模型加剧对弱势群体的不平等时。传统偏见缓解方法常导致‘性能均等化’效应,即提升弱势群体表现的同时降低优势群体性能。本文提出基于持续学习的偏见缓解(BM-CL)框架,借鉴‘无遗忘学习’和‘弹性权重巩固’等技术,将偏见缓解视为域增量持续学习问题:模型需适应不断变化的公平条件,在改善弱势群体结果的同时避免遗忘对优势群体有益的知识。在具有多样化偏见来源的合成与真实世界图像数据集上的实验表明,该框架能有效缓解偏见,同时最小化原有知识损失。研究连接了公平性与持续学习领域,为构建既公平又高效的机器学习系统提供了新路径。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Biases in machine learning pose significant challenges, particularly when models amplify disparities that affect disadvantaged groups. Traditional bias mitigation techniques often lead to a {\itshape leveling-down effect}, whereby improving outcomes of disadvantaged groups comes at the expense of reduced performance for advantaged groups. This study introduces Bias Mitigation through Continual Learning (BM-CL), a novel framework that leverages the principles of continual learning to address this trade-off. We postulate that mitigating bias is conceptually similar to domain-incremental continual learning, where the model must adjust to changing fairness conditions, improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups without forgetting the knowledge that benefits advantaged groups. Drawing inspiration from techniques such as Learning without Forgetting and Elastic Weight Consolidation, we reinterpret bias mitigation as a continual learning problem. This perspective allows models to incrementally balance fairness objectives, enhancing outcomes for disadvantaged groups while preserving performance for advantaged groups. Experiments on synthetic and real-world image datasets, characterized by diverse sources of bias, demonstrate that the proposed framework mitigates biases while minimizing the loss of original knowledge. Our approach bridges the fields of fairness and continual learning, offering a promising pathway for developing machine learning systems that are both equitable and effective.

偏见缓解持续学习公平性

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