Large Scale Multi-Task Bayesian Optimization with Large Language Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Zeng, Yimeng, Maus, Natalie, Jones, Haydn Thomas, Tao, Jeffrey, Wan, Fangping, Torres, Marcelo Der Torossian, de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar, Marcus, Ryan, Bastani, Osbert, Gardner, Jacob R.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Zeng, Yimeng
Maus, Natalie
Jones, Haydn Thomas
Tao, Jeffrey
Wan, Fangping
Torres, Marcelo Der Torossian
de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar
Marcus, Ryan
Bastani, Osbert
Gardner, Jacob R.
author_facet Zeng, Yimeng
Maus, Natalie
Jones, Haydn Thomas
Tao, Jeffrey
Wan, Fangping
Torres, Marcelo Der Torossian
de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar
Marcus, Ryan
Bastani, Osbert
Gardner, Jacob R.
contents In multi-task Bayesian optimization, the goal is to leverage experience from optimizing existing tasks to improve the efficiency of optimizing new ones. While approaches using multi-task Gaussian processes or deep kernel transfer exist, the performance improvement is marginal when scaling beyond a moderate number of tasks. We introduce a novel approach leveraging large language models (LLMs) to learn from, and improve upon, previous optimization trajectories, scaling to approximately 1500 distinct tasks. Specifically, we propose a feedback loop in which an LLM is fine-tuned on the high quality solutions to specific tasks found by Bayesian optimization (BO). This LLM is then used to generate initialization points for future BO searches for new tasks. The trajectories of these new searches provide additional training data for fine-tuning the LLM, completing the loop. We evaluate our method on two distinct domains: database query optimization and antimicrobial peptide design. Results demonstrate that our approach creates a positive feedback loop, where the LLM's generated initializations gradually improve, leading to better optimization performance. As this feedback loop continues, we find that the LLM is eventually able to generate solutions to new tasks in just a few shots that are better than the solutions produced by "from scratch" by Bayesian optimization while simultaneously requiring significantly fewer oracle calls.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_08131
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Large Scale Multi-Task Bayesian Optimization with Large Language Models
Zeng, Yimeng
Maus, Natalie
Jones, Haydn Thomas
Tao, Jeffrey
Wan, Fangping
Torres, Marcelo Der Torossian
de la Fuente-Nunez, Cesar
Marcus, Ryan
Bastani, Osbert
Gardner, Jacob R.
Machine Learning
In multi-task Bayesian optimization, the goal is to leverage experience from optimizing existing tasks to improve the efficiency of optimizing new ones. While approaches using multi-task Gaussian processes or deep kernel transfer exist, the performance improvement is marginal when scaling beyond a moderate number of tasks. We introduce a novel approach leveraging large language models (LLMs) to learn from, and improve upon, previous optimization trajectories, scaling to approximately 1500 distinct tasks. Specifically, we propose a feedback loop in which an LLM is fine-tuned on the high quality solutions to specific tasks found by Bayesian optimization (BO). This LLM is then used to generate initialization points for future BO searches for new tasks. The trajectories of these new searches provide additional training data for fine-tuning the LLM, completing the loop. We evaluate our method on two distinct domains: database query optimization and antimicrobial peptide design. Results demonstrate that our approach creates a positive feedback loop, where the LLM's generated initializations gradually improve, leading to better optimization performance. As this feedback loop continues, we find that the LLM is eventually able to generate solutions to new tasks in just a few shots that are better than the solutions produced by "from scratch" by Bayesian optimization while simultaneously requiring significantly fewer oracle calls.
title Large Scale Multi-Task Bayesian Optimization with Large Language Models
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.08131