arXiv:2606.04342cs.LGcs.AI2026-06KDD被引 3

MSE最优预测在长期时间序列中可能严重失真,需权衡精度与现实性。

Expectations vs. Realities: The Cost of MSE-Optimal Forecasting Under Conditional Uncertainty

论文配图:Expectations vs. Realities: The Cost of MSE-Optimal Forecasting Under Conditional Uncertainty
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 提出条件不确定性间隙概念,揭示精度与分布真实性间的根本矛盾。
  • 实证发现放松5%以内的MSE可带来17.3%的分布真实度提升,部分数据集超30%。
  • 指出现有方法如直接多输出模型偏重精度,递归与采样法更注重现实性。

多步时间序列预测通常使用均方误差(MSE)等点误差指标评估,隐含将条件均值作为充分目标。我们发现,在条件不确定性下,条件期望在长时域中无法代表典型实现值。通过定义条件不确定性间隙,证明当该间隙非零时,任何确定性预测器都无法同时最小化MSE并匹配实际未来值的边际分布。这建立了模型无关的精度-现实性权衡。基于受控随机动力系统和九个真实世界基准,我们刻画了精度-现实性前沿,并量化了仅依赖MSE选模型的实际代价。随着预测时域增长,可达集合演变为明显的帕累托前沿,分离出高精度但分布过窄的预测器与牺牲精度以获得更真实波动性的方法。在多个基准上,小幅放松MSE(≤5%)常带来显著的现实性提升,中位数改善达17.3%,某些数据集超过30%。进一步发现:直接多输出预测器集中于精度最优端,而递归策略和基于样本的推断更倾向现实性。结果揭示了基于MSE评估在长时域预测中的结构性缺陷,并将策略与推断选择重新理解为不可避免的精度-现实性权衡导航。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Multi-step time series forecasting (MSF) is commonly evaluated using point-wise error metrics such as mean squared error (MSE), implicitly treating the conditional mean as a sufficient target. We show that this can be misleading under conditional uncertainty, where the conditional expectation becomes unrepresentative of typical realized values at longer horizons. We formalize this effect through a conditional uncertainty gap and prove that whenever this gap is nonzero, no deterministic predictor can simultaneously minimize MSE and match the marginal distribution of realized futures. This establishes a fundamental, model-agnostic trade-off between point accuracy and marginal realism in MSF evaluation. Using controlled stochastic dynamical systems and nine real-world forecasting benchmarks, we empirically characterize the resulting accuracy--realism frontier and \textbf{quantify the practical cost of MSE-only model selection}. As conditional uncertainty increases with forecast horizon, the attainable set expands into a pronounced Pareto front, separating MSE-optimal but under-dispersed predictors from methods that trade accuracy for realistic marginal variability. \textbf{Across benchmarks, we find that small relaxations in MSE ($\boldsymbol{\le 5\%}$) frequently unlock disproportionate gains in marginal realism, with median improvements of $\mathbf{17.3\%}$ and gains exceeding $\mathbf{30\%}$ in some datasets.} We further show that common forecasting strategies systematically occupy different regions of this frontier: direct multi-output predictors concentrate near the accuracy-optimal extreme, while recursive strategies and sample-based inference favors marginal realism. Together, these results expose a structural failure mode of MSE-based evaluation in long-horizon forecasting and recast strategy and inference selection as navigation of an unavoidable accuracy--realism trade-off.

时间序列预测评估精度-现实性MSE局限

Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。