Risk sensitive robust support vector machines

We propose a new family of classification algorithms in the spirit of support vector machines, that builds in non-conservative protection to noise and controls overfitting. Our formulation is based on a softer version of robust optimization called comprehensive robustness. We show that this formulation is equivalent to regularization by any arbitrary convex regularizer. We explain how the connection of comprehensive robustness to convex risk-measures can be used to design risk-constrained classifiers with robustness to the input distribution. Our formulations lead to easily solved convex problems. Empirical results show the promise of comprehensive robust classifiers in handling risk sensitive classification.

[1]  Huan Xu Robust decision making and its applications in machine learning , 2009 .

[2]  Vladimir N. Vapnik,et al.  The Nature of Statistical Learning Theory , 2000, Statistics for Engineering and Information Science.

[3]  Dimitris Bertsimas,et al.  A Soft Robust Model for Optimization Under Ambiguity , 2010, Oper. Res..

[4]  Alexander J. Smola,et al.  A Second Order Cone programming Formulation for Classifying Missing Data , 2004, NIPS.

[5]  Michael I. Jordan,et al.  A Robust Minimax Approach to Classification , 2003, J. Mach. Learn. Res..

[6]  Arkadi Nemirovski,et al.  Robust solutions of uncertain linear programs , 1999, Oper. Res. Lett..

[7]  Alexander J. Smola,et al.  Learning with kernels , 1998 .

[8]  Vladimir Vapnik,et al.  The Nature of Statistical Learning , 1995 .

[9]  Peter L. Bartlett,et al.  Neural Network Learning - Theoretical Foundations , 1999 .

[10]  Bernhard Schölkopf,et al.  Learning with kernels , 2001 .

[11]  Dimitris Bertsimas,et al.  Constructing Uncertainty Sets for Robust Linear Optimization , 2009, Oper. Res..

[12]  Alexander J. Smola,et al.  Second Order Cone Programming Approaches for Handling Missing and Uncertain Data , 2006, J. Mach. Learn. Res..

[13]  Stephen P. Boyd,et al.  Extending Scope of Robust Optimization: Comprehensive Robust Counterparts of Uncertain Problems , 2006, Math. Program..

[14]  Alexander Schied,et al.  Convex measures of risk and trading constraints , 2002, Finance Stochastics.

[15]  Laurent El Ghaoui,et al.  Robust Solutions to Least-Squares Problems with Uncertain Data , 1997, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl..

[16]  Jos F. Sturm,et al.  A Matlab toolbox for optimization over symmetric cones , 1999 .

[17]  Shie Mannor,et al.  Robustness and Regularization of Support Vector Machines , 2008, J. Mach. Learn. Res..