Online Set Learning from Precision and Recall Feedback

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Cohen, Lee, Mansour, Yishay, Moran, Shay, Shao, Han
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Cohen, Lee
Mansour, Yishay
Moran, Shay
Shao, Han
author_facet Cohen, Lee
Mansour, Yishay
Moran, Shay
Shao, Han
contents We consider the problem of learning an unknown subset $N_\text{target}$ of a domain in an online setting. In each round $t$, the learner predicts a set of items ${N}_t$ and receives one of two types of feedback, each with equal probability: precision feedback, in which a randomly chosen item from the predicted set $N_t$ is revealed and the learner is told whether it belongs to $N_\text{target}$ (incurring a reward if it does), or recall feedback, in which a randomly chosen item from the target set $N_\text{target}$ is revealed and the learner is told whether it belongs to $N_t$ (incurring a reward if it does). The goal is to maximize the cumulative reward over time. This simple online set learning problem abstracts a variety of learning scenarios with precision- and recall-type feedback. We show that a hypothesis class (a family of subsets of the domain) is learnable in this setting if and only if it has finite Vapnik-Chervonenkis (VC) dimension, mirroring the classical PAC characterization. However, the resulting algorithmic structure is markedly more intricate: in contrast to standard Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning -- where the algorithmic landscape is governed by the simple principle of Empirical Risk Minimization (ERM) -- our partial feedback model can invalidate ERM and even all proper learning rules. We develop algorithms to address the dependencies induced by the feedback, obtaining regret guarantees in both the realizable and agnostic settings. Our results provide a qualitative characterization of learnability in this model, addressing its most basic question, while pointing to a range of natural and intriguing open questions, including the determination of optimal regret rates.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_09565
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Online Set Learning from Precision and Recall Feedback
Cohen, Lee
Mansour, Yishay
Moran, Shay
Shao, Han
Machine Learning
We consider the problem of learning an unknown subset $N_\text{target}$ of a domain in an online setting. In each round $t$, the learner predicts a set of items ${N}_t$ and receives one of two types of feedback, each with equal probability: precision feedback, in which a randomly chosen item from the predicted set $N_t$ is revealed and the learner is told whether it belongs to $N_\text{target}$ (incurring a reward if it does), or recall feedback, in which a randomly chosen item from the target set $N_\text{target}$ is revealed and the learner is told whether it belongs to $N_t$ (incurring a reward if it does). The goal is to maximize the cumulative reward over time. This simple online set learning problem abstracts a variety of learning scenarios with precision- and recall-type feedback. We show that a hypothesis class (a family of subsets of the domain) is learnable in this setting if and only if it has finite Vapnik-Chervonenkis (VC) dimension, mirroring the classical PAC characterization. However, the resulting algorithmic structure is markedly more intricate: in contrast to standard Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning -- where the algorithmic landscape is governed by the simple principle of Empirical Risk Minimization (ERM) -- our partial feedback model can invalidate ERM and even all proper learning rules. We develop algorithms to address the dependencies induced by the feedback, obtaining regret guarantees in both the realizable and agnostic settings. Our results provide a qualitative characterization of learnability in this model, addressing its most basic question, while pointing to a range of natural and intriguing open questions, including the determination of optimal regret rates.
title Online Set Learning from Precision and Recall Feedback
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09565