Transfer Learning through Enhanced Sufficient Representation: Enriching Source Domain Knowledge with Target Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ge, Yeheng, Zhou, Xueyu, Huang, Jian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ge, Yeheng
Zhou, Xueyu
Huang, Jian
author_facet Ge, Yeheng
Zhou, Xueyu
Huang, Jian
contents Transfer learning is an important approach for addressing the challenges posed by limited data availability in various applications. It accomplishes this by transferring knowledge from well-established source domains to a less familiar target domain. However, traditional transfer learning methods often face difficulties due to rigid model assumptions and the need for a high degree of similarity between source and target domain models. In this paper, we introduce a novel method for transfer learning called Transfer learning through Enhanced Sufficient Representation (TESR). Our approach begins by estimating a sufficient and invariant representation from the source domains. This representation is then enhanced with an independent component derived from the target data, ensuring that it is sufficient for the target domain and adaptable to its specific characteristics. A notable advantage of TESR is that it does not rely on assuming similar model structures across different tasks. For example, the source domain models can be regression models, while the target domain task can be classification. This flexibility makes TESR applicable to a wide range of supervised learning problems. We explore the theoretical properties of TESR and validate its performance through simulation studies and real-world data applications, demonstrating its effectiveness in finite sample settings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_20414
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Transfer Learning through Enhanced Sufficient Representation: Enriching Source Domain Knowledge with Target Data
Ge, Yeheng
Zhou, Xueyu
Huang, Jian
Machine Learning
62G05, 68T07
Transfer learning is an important approach for addressing the challenges posed by limited data availability in various applications. It accomplishes this by transferring knowledge from well-established source domains to a less familiar target domain. However, traditional transfer learning methods often face difficulties due to rigid model assumptions and the need for a high degree of similarity between source and target domain models. In this paper, we introduce a novel method for transfer learning called Transfer learning through Enhanced Sufficient Representation (TESR). Our approach begins by estimating a sufficient and invariant representation from the source domains. This representation is then enhanced with an independent component derived from the target data, ensuring that it is sufficient for the target domain and adaptable to its specific characteristics. A notable advantage of TESR is that it does not rely on assuming similar model structures across different tasks. For example, the source domain models can be regression models, while the target domain task can be classification. This flexibility makes TESR applicable to a wide range of supervised learning problems. We explore the theoretical properties of TESR and validate its performance through simulation studies and real-world data applications, demonstrating its effectiveness in finite sample settings.
title Transfer Learning through Enhanced Sufficient Representation: Enriching Source Domain Knowledge with Target Data
topic Machine Learning
62G05, 68T07
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20414