Statistical Learning Theory

1 Course Unit

Statistical learning theory studies the statistical aspects of machine learning and automated reasoning, through the use of (sampled) data. In particular, the focus is on characterizing the generalization ability of learning algorithms in terms of how well they perform on "new" data when trained on some given data set. The focus of the course is on: providing the fundamental tools used in this analysis; understanding the performance of widely used learning algorithms; understanding the "art" of designing good algorithms, both in terms of statistical and computational properties. Potential topics include: empirical process theory; online learning; stochastic optimization; margin based algorithms; feature selection; concentration of measure. Background in probability and linear algebra recommended. Spring 1 Course Unit