Generalization Bounds for Out-of-Distribution Learning Using Information Theory

Core Concepts

The authors propose a general information-theoretic framework that provides generalization bounds for out-of-distribution learning, encompassing and extending previous results based on Wasserstein distance and KL-divergence.

Abstract

The authors study the problem of out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization in machine learning and propose a general information-theoretic framework to provide generalization bounds.
Key highlights:

The framework interpolates between Integral Probability Metric (IPM) and f-divergence, which recovers known results like Wasserstein and KL-divergence bounds, as well as yields new generalization bounds.
The framework admits an optimal transport interpretation, where the generalization bound is characterized by the cost of moving the training distribution to an intermediate distribution, and then to the test distribution.
Applying the framework, the authors derive a series of generalization bounds, including IPM-type bounds (Wasserstein, total variation) and f-divergence-type bounds (KL, χ^2, Hellinger, etc.).
The new bounds either strictly improve upon existing bounds in some cases or recover the tightest among existing OOD generalization bounds.
The authors also show that their results encompass the in-distribution generalization case as a special case.

Stats

The loss function is (LW, LZ)-Lipschitz: |ℓ(w1, z) - ℓ(w2, z)| ≤ LW|w1 - w2| and |ℓ(w, z1) - ℓ(w, z2)| ≤ LZ|z1 - z2|.
The loss function is σ-sub-Gaussian: Varμ[ℓ(w, Z)] ≤ σ^2 for all w ∈ W.
The loss function is (σ, c)-sub-gamma: Varμ[ℓ(w, Z)] ≤ σ^2(1 - ct) for all w ∈ W and t ∈ [0, 1/c).
The loss function is bounded: ℓ(w, z) ∈ [0, B] for all w ∈ W and z ∈ Z.

Quotes

"Our framework interpolates freely between Integral Probability Metric (IPM) and f-divergence, which naturally recovers some known results (including Wasserstein- and KL-bounds), as well as yields new generalization bounds."
"Moreover, we show that our framework admits an optimal transport interpretation."

Key Insights Distilled From

An Information-Theoretic Framework for Out-of-Distribution Generalization

by Wenliang Liu... at arxiv.org 04-01-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.19895.pdf

Deeper Inquiries

How can the proposed information-theoretic framework be extended to other machine learning settings beyond out-of-distribution generalization, such as domain adaptation or transfer learning

The proposed information-theoretic framework for out-of-distribution generalization can be extended to other machine learning settings such as domain adaptation or transfer learning by adapting the framework to suit the specific characteristics of these settings. In domain adaptation, where the training and testing data come from different but related distributions, the framework can incorporate divergence measures that capture the distribution shift between the domains. This can help in quantifying the generalization gap and guiding the adaptation process. For transfer learning, where knowledge from a source domain is leveraged to improve learning in a target domain, the framework can be modified to account for the transfer of information and the alignment of feature spaces between domains. By adjusting the divergence measures and bounds in the framework, it can be effectively applied to these settings to provide information-theoretic insights into generalization performance.

What are the limitations of the f-divergence-based approach compared to other divergence measures, and how can these limitations be addressed

The f-divergence-based approach has limitations compared to other divergence measures, such as the KL-divergence or total variation distance. One limitation is that f-divergences may not always be easy to compute or optimize, especially for complex distributions or high-dimensional data. Additionally, f-divergences are sensitive to the choice of the convex function f, which can impact the behavior of the divergence measure. To address these limitations, one approach is to consider a broader class of divergence measures, including other popular choices like the KL-divergence or total variation distance. By incorporating a mix of divergence measures, the framework can leverage the strengths of each measure and provide more robust generalization bounds. Furthermore, exploring adaptive or data-driven selection of f-divergences based on the characteristics of the data can help mitigate the limitations of a fixed f-divergence choice.

Can the information-theoretic bounds be further tightened by incorporating additional structural assumptions on the learning problem or the hypothesis class

The information-theoretic bounds can be further tightened by incorporating additional structural assumptions on the learning problem or the hypothesis class. One way to achieve this is by imposing constraints on the complexity of the hypothesis class, such as through regularization or model selection techniques. By restricting the hypothesis space to simpler models or enforcing sparsity in the model parameters, the generalization bounds can be improved. Moreover, incorporating structural assumptions about the data distribution, such as smoothness or low-dimensional structure, can lead to tighter bounds by exploiting the inherent properties of the data. Additionally, leveraging domain-specific knowledge or incorporating domain-specific constraints can help tailor the bounds to the specific characteristics of the learning problem, leading to more informative and precise generalization bounds.