Stopping Bayesian Optimization with Probabilistic Regret Bounds

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Wilson, James T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Wilson, James T.
author_facet Wilson, James T.
contents Bayesian optimization is a popular framework for efficiently tackling black-box search problems. As a rule, these algorithms operate by iteratively choosing what to evaluate next until some predefined budget has been exhausted. We investigate replacing this de facto stopping rule with criteria based on the probability that a point satisfies a given set of conditions. We focus on the prototypical example of an $(ε, δ)$-criterion: stop when a solution has been found whose value is within $ε> 0$ of the optimum with probability at least $1 - δ$ under the model. For Gaussian process priors, we show that Bayesian optimization satisfies this criterion under mild technical assumptions. Further, we give a practical algorithm for evaluating Monte Carlo stopping rules in a manner that is both sample efficient and robust to estimation error. These findings are accompanied by empirical results which demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_16811
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stopping Bayesian Optimization with Probabilistic Regret Bounds
Wilson, James T.
Machine Learning
Bayesian optimization is a popular framework for efficiently tackling black-box search problems. As a rule, these algorithms operate by iteratively choosing what to evaluate next until some predefined budget has been exhausted. We investigate replacing this de facto stopping rule with criteria based on the probability that a point satisfies a given set of conditions. We focus on the prototypical example of an $(ε, δ)$-criterion: stop when a solution has been found whose value is within $ε> 0$ of the optimum with probability at least $1 - δ$ under the model. For Gaussian process priors, we show that Bayesian optimization satisfies this criterion under mild technical assumptions. Further, we give a practical algorithm for evaluating Monte Carlo stopping rules in a manner that is both sample efficient and robust to estimation error. These findings are accompanied by empirical results which demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed approach.
title Stopping Bayesian Optimization with Probabilistic Regret Bounds
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.16811