A General Framework for User-Guided Bayesian Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Hvarfner, Carl, Hutter, Frank, Nardi, Luigi
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2023
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author Hvarfner, Carl
Hutter, Frank
Nardi, Luigi
author_facet Hvarfner, Carl
Hutter, Frank
Nardi, Luigi
contents The optimization of expensive-to-evaluate black-box functions is prevalent in various scientific disciplines. Bayesian optimization is an automatic, general and sample-efficient method to solve these problems with minimal knowledge of the underlying function dynamics. However, the ability of Bayesian optimization to incorporate prior knowledge or beliefs about the function at hand in order to accelerate the optimization is limited, which reduces its appeal for knowledgeable practitioners with tight budgets. To allow domain experts to customize the optimization routine, we propose ColaBO, the first Bayesian-principled framework for incorporating prior beliefs beyond the typical kernel structure, such as the likely location of the optimizer or the optimal value. The generality of ColaBO makes it applicable across different Monte Carlo acquisition functions and types of user beliefs. We empirically demonstrate ColaBO's ability to substantially accelerate optimization when the prior information is accurate, and to retain approximately default performance when it is misleading.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_14645
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A General Framework for User-Guided Bayesian Optimization
Hvarfner, Carl
Hutter, Frank
Nardi, Luigi
Machine Learning
The optimization of expensive-to-evaluate black-box functions is prevalent in various scientific disciplines. Bayesian optimization is an automatic, general and sample-efficient method to solve these problems with minimal knowledge of the underlying function dynamics. However, the ability of Bayesian optimization to incorporate prior knowledge or beliefs about the function at hand in order to accelerate the optimization is limited, which reduces its appeal for knowledgeable practitioners with tight budgets. To allow domain experts to customize the optimization routine, we propose ColaBO, the first Bayesian-principled framework for incorporating prior beliefs beyond the typical kernel structure, such as the likely location of the optimizer or the optimal value. The generality of ColaBO makes it applicable across different Monte Carlo acquisition functions and types of user beliefs. We empirically demonstrate ColaBO's ability to substantially accelerate optimization when the prior information is accurate, and to retain approximately default performance when it is misleading.
title A General Framework for User-Guided Bayesian Optimization
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.14645