Generating Diverse Synthetic Datasets for Evaluation of Real-life Recommender Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Malenšek, Miha, Škrlj, Blaž, Mramor, Blaž, Demšar, Jure
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Malenšek, Miha
Škrlj, Blaž
Mramor, Blaž
Demšar, Jure
author_facet Malenšek, Miha
Škrlj, Blaž
Mramor, Blaž
Demšar, Jure
contents Synthetic datasets are important for evaluating and testing machine learning models. When evaluating real-life recommender systems, high-dimensional categorical (and sparse) datasets are often considered. Unfortunately, there are not many solutions that would allow generation of artificial datasets with such characteristics. For that purpose, we developed a novel framework for generating synthetic datasets that are diverse and statistically coherent. Our framework allows for creation of datasets with controlled attributes, enabling iterative modifications to fit specific experimental needs, such as introducing complex feature interactions, feature cardinality, or specific distributions. We demonstrate the framework's utility through use cases such as benchmarking probabilistic counting algorithms, detecting algorithmic bias, and simulating AutoML searches. Unlike existing methods that either focus narrowly on specific dataset structures, or prioritize (private) data synthesis through real data, our approach provides a modular means to quickly generating completely synthetic datasets we can tailor to diverse experimental requirements. Our results show that the framework effectively isolates model behavior in unique situations and highlights its potential for significant advancements in the evaluation and development of recommender systems. The readily-available framework is available as a free open Python package to facilitate research with minimal friction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_06809
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generating Diverse Synthetic Datasets for Evaluation of Real-life Recommender Systems
Malenšek, Miha
Škrlj, Blaž
Mramor, Blaž
Demšar, Jure
Information Retrieval
Artificial Intelligence
Synthetic datasets are important for evaluating and testing machine learning models. When evaluating real-life recommender systems, high-dimensional categorical (and sparse) datasets are often considered. Unfortunately, there are not many solutions that would allow generation of artificial datasets with such characteristics. For that purpose, we developed a novel framework for generating synthetic datasets that are diverse and statistically coherent. Our framework allows for creation of datasets with controlled attributes, enabling iterative modifications to fit specific experimental needs, such as introducing complex feature interactions, feature cardinality, or specific distributions. We demonstrate the framework's utility through use cases such as benchmarking probabilistic counting algorithms, detecting algorithmic bias, and simulating AutoML searches. Unlike existing methods that either focus narrowly on specific dataset structures, or prioritize (private) data synthesis through real data, our approach provides a modular means to quickly generating completely synthetic datasets we can tailor to diverse experimental requirements. Our results show that the framework effectively isolates model behavior in unique situations and highlights its potential for significant advancements in the evaluation and development of recommender systems. The readily-available framework is available as a free open Python package to facilitate research with minimal friction.
title Generating Diverse Synthetic Datasets for Evaluation of Real-life Recommender Systems
topic Information Retrieval
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.06809