Multi-label Classification under Uncertainty: A Tree-based Conformal Prediction Approach

Chhavi Tyagi, Wenge Guo

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multi-label classification is a common challenge in various machine learning applications, where a single data instance can be associated with multiple classes simultaneously. The current paper proposes a novel tree-based method for multi-label classification using conformal prediction and multiple hypothesis testing. The proposed method employs hierarchical clustering with labelsets to develop a hierarchical tree, which is then formulated as a multiple-testing problem with a hierarchical structure. The split-conformal prediction method is used to obtain marginal conformal p-values for each tested hypothesis, and two hierarchical testing procedures are developed based on marginal conformal p-values, including a hierarchical Bonferroni procedure and its modification for controlling the family-wise error rate. The prediction sets are thus formed based on the testing outcomes of these two procedures. We establish a theoretical guarantee of valid coverage for the prediction sets through proven family-wise error rate control of those two procedures. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in a simulation study and two real data analysis compared to other conformal methods for multi-label classification.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)488-512
Number of pages25
JournalProceedings of Machine Learning Research
Volume204
StatePublished - 2023
Event12th Symposium on Conformal and Probabilistic Prediction with Applications, COPA 2023 - Limassol, Cyprus
Duration: Sep 13 2023Sep 15 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Software
  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Statistics and Probability

Keywords

  • Conformal Prediction
  • Family-wise Error Rate
  • Hierarchical Tree
  • Multi-label Classification
  • Multiple-Testing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Multi-label Classification under Uncertainty: A Tree-based Conformal Prediction Approach'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this