Enhancing Fairness and Performance in Machine Learning Models: A Multi-Task Learning Approach with Monte-Carlo Dropout and Pareto Optimality

Core Concepts

A bias mitigation method based on multi-task learning, utilizing Monte-Carlo dropout and Pareto optimality, that optimizes accuracy and fairness while improving model explainability without using sensitive information.

Abstract

The paper addresses the need for generalizable bias mitigation techniques in machine learning due to growing concerns of fairness and discrimination in data-driven decision-making. While existing methods have succeeded in specific cases, they often lack generalizability and cannot be easily applied to different data types or models. Additionally, the trade-off between accuracy and fairness remains a fundamental tension.

To address these issues, the authors propose a bias mitigation method based on multi-task learning, utilizing Monte-Carlo dropout and Pareto optimality. This method optimizes accuracy and fairness while improving the model's explainability without using sensitive information.

The authors test the method on three datasets from different domains (in-hospital mortality, finance, and stress prediction) and show how it can deliver the most desired trade-off between model fairness and performance. This allows for tuning in specific domains where one metric may be more important than another.

The key highlights of the proposed method are:

• Utilizes multi-task learning to predict the target label and a protected label
• Employs Monte-Carlo dropout to estimate model uncertainty, which is hypothesized to correlate with reduced bias
• Implements non-dominated sorting to obtain the Pareto optimal set of models that balance performance and fairness
• Demonstrates improved fairness metrics (disparate impact ratio, difference in false negatives/positives) compared to baseline and reweighing techniques
• Maintains performance while enhancing fairness, allowing for tuning based on domain-specific priorities
• Provides a generalizable framework to address bias mitigation and the fairness-performance trade-off in machine learning

Stats

The ADULT dataset shows the baseline model had a disparate impact ratio (DIR) above 2 for age, below 0.1 for sex, and around 0.5 for race.
The MIMIC-III dataset showed the baseline model was only biased by marital status, with a DIR of 1.308.
The SNAPSHOT dataset showed the baseline model was only biased by race for the evening-sad-happy label, with a DIR of 0.78.

Quotes

"Negative bias can be introduced into the machine pipeline in two main ways, through the data or the algorithm itself."
"Despite their seeming success in specific cases, there is a recurring trend of bias mitigation methods lacking generalizability."
"With the framework we introduce in this paper, we aim to enhance the fairness-performance trade-off and offer a solution to bias mitigation methods' generalizability issues in machine learning."

Key Insights Distilled From

Enhancing Fairness and Performance in Machine Learning Models: A Multi-Task Learning Approach with Monte-Carlo Dropout and Pareto Optimality

by Khadija Zann... at arxiv.org 04-15-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.08230.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How can the proposed method be extended to handle multiple protected attributes simultaneously

To extend the proposed method to handle multiple protected attributes simultaneously, we can modify the multi-task learning approach to incorporate all the protected attributes in the model training process. Instead of focusing on one protected attribute at a time, the model can be trained to predict multiple protected labels alongside the target label. This would involve creating separate branches in the neural network for each protected attribute, allowing the model to learn the relationships between the features and the different protected attributes simultaneously. By doing so, the model can optimize for fairness across all the protected attributes while maintaining performance on the target task. Additionally, the non-dominated sorting algorithm can be adapted to handle multiple fairness metrics corresponding to each protected attribute, enabling the identification of Pareto optimal solutions that balance fairness across all attributes.

What are the limitations of the Pareto optimality approach, and how can it be further improved to handle more complex fairness-performance trade-offs

The Pareto optimality approach, while effective in identifying trade-offs between fairness and performance, has certain limitations that can be addressed for further improvement. One limitation is the reliance on predefined metrics for fairness and performance, which may not capture the full complexity of real-world scenarios. To overcome this limitation, the approach can be enhanced by incorporating domain-specific constraints and objectives into the optimization process. This would allow for a more customized and nuanced evaluation of fairness and performance trade-offs based on the specific requirements of the application. Additionally, the Pareto front can be expanded to include a wider range of solutions by exploring a more diverse set of model configurations and hyperparameters. This can help in capturing a broader spectrum of trade-offs and providing a more comprehensive understanding of the fairness-performance landscape.

Can the uncertainty-fairness relationship explored in this work be leveraged to develop new fairness-aware model selection or architecture search techniques

The relationship between uncertainty and fairness explored in this work can be leveraged to develop new fairness-aware model selection or architecture search techniques. By incorporating uncertainty estimates into the model evaluation process, researchers can prioritize models that not only perform well on the target task but also exhibit lower uncertainty in their predictions with respect to fairness metrics. This can be achieved by developing algorithms that consider both the predictive performance and the uncertainty associated with fairness outcomes when selecting the final model. Additionally, the uncertainty-fairness relationship can guide the design of architecture search techniques that optimize for fairness along with performance by incorporating uncertainty-aware regularization methods or loss functions. By integrating uncertainty considerations into the model selection and architecture search processes, researchers can develop more robust and fair machine learning models.