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unibo-ai-notes/src/year2/artificial-intelligence-in-industry/sections/_prediction_focused_learning.tex
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\chapter{Predict and optimize}
\section{Approaches}
\subsection{Prediction focused learning}
\begin{description}
\item[Prediction focused learning] \marginnote{Prediction focused learning}
Inference method that solves an optimization problem by using inputs predicted by an estimator. More specifically, there are two steps:
\begin{descriptionlist}
\item[Predict]
Train a predictor for the parameters of the problem. The optimal predictor $h$ has the following parameters:
\[ \theta^* = \arg\min_\theta \left\{ \mathbb{E}_{(x, y) \sim P(X, Y)}[\mathcal{L}(y, \hat{y})] \mid \hat{y} = h(x, \theta) \right\} \]
\item[Optimize]
Solve an optimization problem with the estimated parameters as input:
\[ z^*(y) = \arg\min_\vec{z} \left\{ f(\vec{z}, y) \mid \vec{z} \in F \right\} \]
where $\vec{z}$ is the decision vector, $f$ is the cost function, $F$ is the feasible space, and $y$ is the output of the predictor $h$.
\end{descriptionlist}
Therefore, during inference, the following is computed:
\[ z^*(h(x; \theta)) = z^*(\hat{y}) \]
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{./img/dfl_setup.png}
\end{figure}
\begin{remark}
This approach is asymptotically correct. The perfect predictor allows to reach the optimal result.
\end{remark}
\begin{remark}
The predictor should be trained for minimal decision cost (instead of maximal accuracy) so that the optimizer can make the correct choice.
\end{remark}
\begin{example}
Consider the problem:
\[ \arg\min_{z} \{y_0 z_0 + y_1 z_1 \mid z_0 + z_1 = 1, z \in \{0, 1\}^2\} \]
with some ground-truth $y_0$ and $y_1$.
Assume that the predictor can only learn a model of form:
\[ \hat{y}_0 = \theta^2x \qquad \hat{y}_1 = 0.5 \cdot \theta \]
By maximizing accuracy, the following predictions are obtained:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{./img/_pfl_example1.pdf}
\end{figure}
The intersection point is important for optimization. In this case, predictions are not ideal. Instead, by minimizing decision cost, the following predictions are made:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.7\linewidth]{./img/_pfl_example2.pdf}
\end{figure}
\end{example}
\end{description}
\subsection{Decision focused learning}
\begin{description}
\item[Decision focused learning (DFL)] \marginnote{Decision focused learning (DFL)}
PFD where linear cost functions are assumed. The optimization problem is therefore:
\[ z^*(y) = \arg\min_z \{ y^Tz \mid z \in F \} \]
where $y$ cannot be measured but depends on some observable $x$ (i.e., $X, Y \sim P(X, Y)$).
The training problem of the predictor aims to minimize the decision cost and is defined as:
\[
\theta^* = \arg\min_\theta = \left\{ \mathbb{E}_{(x, y) \sim P(X,Y)} \left[ \texttt{regret}(y, \hat{y}) \mid \hat{y} = h(x, \theta) \right] \right\}
\]
\begin{description}
\item[Regret] \marginnote{Regret}
Measures the difference between the solution obtained using the predictor and the perfect solution. It is defined as:
\[ \texttt{regret}(y, \hat{y}) = y^T z^*(\hat{y}) - y^T z^*(y) \]
where:
\begin{itemize}
\item $z^*(y)$ is the best solution with access to the ground-truth (i.e., an oracle).
\item $z^*(\hat{y})$ is the solution computed with the estimated parameters.
\end{itemize}
\begin{remark}
Optimizing regret is equivalent to optimizing the cost function, but regret is lower-bounded at $0$.
\end{remark}
\begin{remark}
Regret is non-differentiable in many points and, when it is, its gradient is not informative. In practice, a surrogate for regret is used instead.
\end{remark}
\begin{example}
Consider a collection of normally distributed data $(x, y)$:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\includegraphics[width=0.75\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_regret_example1.pdf}
\end{figure}
The regret landscape for varying parameter $\theta$ is:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_regret_example2.pdf}
\caption{Regret for a single sample}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_regret_example3.pdf}
\caption{Regret for a batch}
\end{subfigure}
\end{figure}
\end{example}
\item[Self-contrastive loss] \marginnote{Self-contrastive loss}
Surrogate for regret defined as:
\[ \hat{y}^T z^*(y) - \hat{y}^T z^*(\hat{y}) \]
The idea is that a good prediction vector $\hat{y}$ should make the optimal cost $\hat{y}^T z^*(y)$ not worse than the cost of the estimated one $\hat{y}^T z^*(\hat{y})$.
\begin{remark}
By differentiating over $\hat{y}$, the result is a subgradient (i.e., coefficient used to compute a non-defined gradient) and it is computed as:
\[ \nabla(\hat{y}^T z^*(y) - \hat{y}^T z^*(\hat{y})) = z^*(y) - z^*(\hat{y}) \]
\end{remark}
\begin{remark}
Self-contrastive loss creates spurious minima (i.e., false minima that are not in the regret) as a trivial solution is to predict $\hat{y} = 0$.
\end{remark}
\begin{example}
The self-contrastive loss using the same data as before is:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_self_contrastive_example1.pdf}
\caption{Self-contrastive loss for a single sample}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_self_contrastive_example2.pdf}
\caption{Self-contrastive loss for a batch}
\end{subfigure}
\end{figure}
\end{example}
\item[SPO+ loss] \marginnote{SPO+ loss}
Surrogate for regret defined as a perturbed version of the self-contrastive loss:
\[
\texttt{spo+}(y, \hat{y}) = \hat{y}^T_\text{spo} z^*(y) - \hat{y}^T_\text{spo} z^*(\hat{y}_\text{spo}) \qquad \text{with } \hat{y}_\text{spo} = 2 \hat{y} - y
\]
\begin{remark}
With many samples, the spurious minima tend to cancel out.
\end{remark}
\begin{example}
The SPO+ loss using the same data as before is:
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_spop_example1.pdf}
\caption{SPO+ for a single sample}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}{0.49\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_spop_example2.pdf}
\caption{SPO+ for a batch}
\end{subfigure}
\end{figure}
\end{example}
\end{description}
\begin{remark}
DLF are slow to train as each iteration requires to solve an optimization problem.
\end{remark}
\begin{description}
\item[DLF training speed-up] \phantom{}
\begin{description}
\item[Warm start]
Initialize a DFL network with PFL weights.
\item[Solution caching]
Assuming that the feasible space is constant, caching can be done as follows:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Initialize the cache $\mathcal{S}$ with the true optimal solutions $z^*(y_i)$.
\item When it is required to compute $z^*(\hat{y})$:
\begin{itemize}
\item With probability $p$, invoke the solver and compute the real solution. The newly computed value is cached.
\item With probability $p-1$, do a cache lookup as:
\[ \hat{z}^*(\hat{y}) = \arg\min_z \{ f(z) \mid z \in \mathcal{S} \} \]
\end{itemize}
\end{enumerate}
\end{description}
\end{description}
\end{description}
\begin{remark}
PFL with more complex networks allows reaching comparable performance to DLF.
\end{remark}
\begin{remark}
PFL cannot make perfect predictions in presence of uncertainty.
\end{remark}
\subsection{Two-stage stochastic optimization}
\begin{description}
\item[Two-stage stochastic optimization (2s-SOP)] \marginnote{Two-stage stochastic optimization (2s-SOP)}
Optimization performed in two steps:
\begin{descriptionlist}
\item[First-stage decisions] Make an initial set of decisions from the current state.
\item[Recourse actions] Observe uncertainty and make a second set of decisions.
\end{descriptionlist}
Formally, 2s-SOP is defined as:
\[ \arg\min_z \left\{ f(z) + \underset{y \sim P(Y|x)}{\mathbb{E}}\left[ \min_{z''} r(z'', z, y) \right] \mid z \in F, z'' \in F''(z, y) \right\} \]
where:
\begin{itemize}
\item $Y$ models the uncertainty information.
\item $z$ and $F$ are the first-stage decisions and their feasible space, respectively.
\item $z''$ and $F''(z, y)$ are the recourse actions and their feasible space, respectively.
\item $f$ is the immediate cost function of the first-stage decisions.
\item $r$ is the cost of the recourse actions.
\end{itemize}
\begin{example}
Consider the case of supply planning where we buy from primary suppliers first and then from another sources (for a higher price) in case the primary suppliers are unable to satisfy the request.
In 2s-SOP, the problem can be formulated as:
\[
\begin{gathered}
\arg\min_z c^Tz + \underset{y \sim P(Y|x)}{\mathbb{E}}\left[ \min_{z''} c''z'' \right] \\
\begin{aligned}
\text{subject to } &y^Tz + z'' \geq y_\text{min} \\
&z \in \{ 0, 1 \}^n, z'' \in \mathbb{N}_0
\end{aligned}
\end{gathered}
\]
where:
\begin{itemize}
\item $z_j = 1$ iff we choose the $j$-th supplier.
\item $c_j$ is the cost of the $j$-th supplier.
\item $y_j$ is the yield of the $j$-th supplier and represents the uncertainty.
\item $y_\text{min}$ is the minimum required yield.
\item $z''$ is the amount we buy at cost $c''$.
\end{itemize}
\end{example}
\item[2s-SOP without uncertainty] \marginnote{2s-SOP without uncertainty}
Solve a 2s-SOP problem by ignoring the uncertainty part (i.e., $\mathbb{E}_{y \sim P(Y|x)}\left[ \min_{z''} r(z'', z, y) \right]$).
\item[Scenario based 2s-SOP] \marginnote{Scenario based 2s-SOP}
Sample a finite set of scenarios from $P(Y | x)$ and define different recourse action variables for each scenario.
\begin{example}
For supply planning, the problem becomes:
\[
\begin{gathered}
\arg\min_z c^Tz + \frac{1}{N} c'' z_{k}'' \\
\begin{aligned}
\text{subject to } &y^Tz + z_{k}'' \geq y_\text{min} & \forall k = 1, \dots, N \\
&z \in \{ 0, 1 \}^n \\
&z_k'' \in \mathbb{N}_0 & \forall k = 1, \dots, N
\end{aligned}
\end{gathered}
\]
\end{example}
\begin{remark}
This approach is effective but it is computationally expensive.
\end{remark}
\item[DFL for 2s-SOP] \marginnote{DFL for 2s-SOP}
Consider the formulation of DFL problems:
\[
\theta^* = \arg\min_\theta \left\{\underset{(x, y) \sim P(X, Y)}{\mathbb{E}}\left[ \texttt{regret}(y, \hat{y}) \right] \mid \hat{y} = h(x; \theta) \right\}
\]
To change this formulation to make it closer to 2s-SOP, we can:
\begin{itemize}
\item Use a generic cost function $g$ instead of the regret (the minimization objective does not change).
\item Focus on a single observable $x$ (i.e., a single instance of the problem).
\item Add the constraint $z^*(\hat{y}) \in F$ (which is always satisfied by construction).
\end{itemize}
The formulation becomes:
\[
\theta^* = \arg\min_\theta \left\{\underset{y \sim P(Y|x)}{\mathbb{E}}\left[ g(z^*(\hat{y}), y) \right] \mid \hat{y} = h(x; \theta), z^*(\hat{y}) \in F \right\}
\]
By specifically choosing $g$ as:
\[ g(z, y) = \min_{z''} \left\{ f(z) + r(z'', z, y) \mid z'' \in F''(z, y) \right\} \]
The final problem can be formulated as:
\[
\begin{gathered}
\arg\min_\theta f(z^*(\hat{y})) + \underset{y \sim P(Y|x)}{\mathbb{E}}\left[ \min_{z''} r(z'', z^*(\hat{y}), y) \right] \\
\begin{aligned}
\text{subject to } &\hat{y} = h(x; \theta) \\
&z^*(\hat{y}) \in F \\
&z'' \in F''(z, y) \\
\end{aligned}
\end{gathered}
\]
Which is close to 2s-SOP formulated as a training problem on the parameters $\theta$ that is considering a single example (i.e., $x$ is fixed).
\begin{remark}
With this formulation, at inference time, only a single scenario is needed to obtain good results (i.e., more scalability). Moreover, existing solvers can be used without modifications.
\end{remark}
\begin{example}
In the supply planning case, the problem becomes:
\[
\begin{gathered}
z^*(y) = \arg\min_z \left\{ \min_{z''} c^Tz + c''z_k'' \right\} \\
\begin{aligned}
\text{subject to } &y^Tz + z_k'' \geq y_\text{min} \\
&z \in \{ 0, 1 \}^n \\
&z_k'' \in \mathbb{N}_0
\end{aligned}
\end{gathered}
\]
Note that the expected value is not needed as we are considering a single scenario.
\end{example}
\begin{description}
\item[Stochastic smoothing] \marginnote{Stochastic smoothing}
Apply a Gaussian kernel on the loss function to smooth it and make it differentiable.
Formally, the loss becomes:
\[
\tilde{\mathcal{L}}_\text{DFL}(\theta) =
\underset{\substack{(x, y) \sim P(X, Y)\\\hat{y} \sim \mathcal{N}(h(x; \theta))}}{\mathbb{E}}[ \texttt{regret}(y, \hat{y}) ]
\]
\begin{remark}
Using more samples allows achieving better smoothing. Larger $\sigma$ allows removing flat regions but shifts the optimum.
\end{remark}
\begin{figure}[H]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{0.7\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_stochastic_smoothing1.pdf}
\end{subfigure}
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{0.7\linewidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{./img/_dfl_stochastic_smoothing2.pdf}
\end{subfigure}
\end{figure}
\end{description}
\end{description}