Optimal Lower Bounds for Online Multicalibration

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Collina, Natalie, Lu, Jiuyao, Noarov, Georgy, Roth, Aaron
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Collina, Natalie
Lu, Jiuyao
Noarov, Georgy
Roth, Aaron
author_facet Collina, Natalie
Lu, Jiuyao
Noarov, Georgy
Roth, Aaron
contents We prove tight lower bounds for online multicalibration, establishing an information-theoretic separation from marginal calibration. In the general setting where group functions can depend on both context and the learner's predictions, we prove an $Ω(T^{2/3})$ lower bound on expected multicalibration error using just three disjoint binary groups. This matches the upper bounds of Noarov et al. (2025) up to logarithmic factors and exceeds the $O(T^{2/3-\varepsilon})$ upper bound for marginal calibration (Dagan et al., 2025), thereby separating the two problems. We then turn to lower bounds for the more difficult case of group functions that may depend on context but not on the learner's predictions. In this case, we establish an $\widetildeΩ(T^{2/3})$ lower bound for online multicalibration via an $O(\log^3 T)$-sized group family constructed from an orthonormal basis, again matching upper bounds up to logarithmic factors.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_05245
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optimal Lower Bounds for Online Multicalibration
Collina, Natalie
Lu, Jiuyao
Noarov, Georgy
Roth, Aaron
Machine Learning
Statistics Theory
We prove tight lower bounds for online multicalibration, establishing an information-theoretic separation from marginal calibration. In the general setting where group functions can depend on both context and the learner's predictions, we prove an $Ω(T^{2/3})$ lower bound on expected multicalibration error using just three disjoint binary groups. This matches the upper bounds of Noarov et al. (2025) up to logarithmic factors and exceeds the $O(T^{2/3-\varepsilon})$ upper bound for marginal calibration (Dagan et al., 2025), thereby separating the two problems. We then turn to lower bounds for the more difficult case of group functions that may depend on context but not on the learner's predictions. In this case, we establish an $\widetildeΩ(T^{2/3})$ lower bound for online multicalibration via an $O(\log^3 T)$-sized group family constructed from an orthonormal basis, again matching upper bounds up to logarithmic factors.
title Optimal Lower Bounds for Online Multicalibration
topic Machine Learning
Statistics Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05245