A Survey on Data-Dependent Worst-Case Generalization Bounds

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Leroux, Hubert, Marcus, Jean, Roger, Julien
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Leroux, Hubert
Marcus, Jean
Roger, Julien
author_facet Leroux, Hubert
Marcus, Jean
Roger, Julien
contents Deep neural networks generalize well despite being heavily overparameterized, in apparent contradiction with classical learning theory based on uniform convergence over fixed hypothesis spaces. Uniform bounds over the entire parameter space are vacuous in this regime, and recent work has shown that non-vacuous guarantees can be recovered by restricting attention to the part of parameter space that the algorithm actually visits. This survey paper organizes this line of work around three steps: extending PAC-Bayesian theory to random, data-dependent hypothesis sets (arXiv:2404.17442); refining the complexity term with geometric and topological descriptors of the optimization trajectory, including fractal dimensions, alpha-weighted lifetime sums, and positive magnitude (arXiv:2006.09313, arXiv:2302.02766, arXiv:2407.08723); and replacing the resulting information-theoretic terms by stability assumptions (arXiv:2507.06775). We unify these contributions around a single template inequality and a head-to-head comparison of the resulting bounds.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_13913
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Survey on Data-Dependent Worst-Case Generalization Bounds
Leroux, Hubert
Marcus, Jean
Roger, Julien
Machine Learning
I.2.6; F.2.0; G.3
Deep neural networks generalize well despite being heavily overparameterized, in apparent contradiction with classical learning theory based on uniform convergence over fixed hypothesis spaces. Uniform bounds over the entire parameter space are vacuous in this regime, and recent work has shown that non-vacuous guarantees can be recovered by restricting attention to the part of parameter space that the algorithm actually visits. This survey paper organizes this line of work around three steps: extending PAC-Bayesian theory to random, data-dependent hypothesis sets (arXiv:2404.17442); refining the complexity term with geometric and topological descriptors of the optimization trajectory, including fractal dimensions, alpha-weighted lifetime sums, and positive magnitude (arXiv:2006.09313, arXiv:2302.02766, arXiv:2407.08723); and replacing the resulting information-theoretic terms by stability assumptions (arXiv:2507.06775). We unify these contributions around a single template inequality and a head-to-head comparison of the resulting bounds.
title A Survey on Data-Dependent Worst-Case Generalization Bounds
topic Machine Learning
I.2.6; F.2.0; G.3
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13913