Robust transfer learning with unreliable source data
Jianqing Fan, Cheng Gao, Jason M. Klusowski
The Annals of Statistics · 2025 · Volume 53 · Issue 4
Abstract
This paper addresses challenges in robust transfer learning stemming from ambiguity in Bayes classifiers and weak transferable signals between the target and source distributions. We introduce a novel quantity called the “ambiguity level” that measures the discrepancy between the target and source regression functions, propose a simple transfer learning procedure, and establish a general theorem that shows how this new quantity is related to the transferability of learning in terms of risk improvements. Our proposed “Transfer Around Boundary” (TAB) method, with a threshold that balances the performance contributions of the target and source data, is shown to be both efficient and robust, improving classification while avoiding negative transfer. Moreover, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the TAB model on nonparametric classification and logistic regression tasks, achieving upper bounds which are optimal up to logarithmic factors. Simulation studies lend further support to the effectiveness of TAB. We also provide simple approaches to bound the excess misclassification error without the need for specialized knowledge in transfer learning.
Keywords
62C20, 62F30, 62G35, classification, domain adaptation, logistic regression, Minimax rate, nearest neighbors, robust statistics, transfer learning
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