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Title: Actively Avoiding Nonsense in Generative Models
A generative model may generate utter nonsense when it is fit to maximize the likelihood of observed data. This happens due to “model error,” i.e., when the true data generating distribution does not fit within the class of generative models being learned. To address this, we propose a model of active distribution learning using a binary invalidity oracle that identifies some examples as clearly invalid, together with random positive examples sampled from the true distribution. The goal is to maximize the likelihood of the positive examples subject to the constraint of (almost) never generating examples labeled invalid by the oracle. Guarantees are agnostic compared to a class of probability distributions. We first show that proper learning may require exponentially many queries to the invalidity oracle. We then give an improper distribution learning algorithm that uses only polynomially many queries.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1741137 1650733
NSF-PAR ID:
10079745
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Conference on Learning (COLT)
Page Range / eLocation ID:
209-227
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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