Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms

by Shai Shalev-Shwartz, Shai Ben-David

Overview

Machine learning is one of the fastest growing areas of computer science, with far-reaching applications. The aim of this textbook is to introduce machine learning, and the algorithmic paradigms it offers, in a principled way. The book provides an extensive theoretical account of the fundamental ideas underlying machine learning and the mathematical derivations that transform these principles into practical algorithms. Following a presentation of the basics of the field, the book covers a wide array of central topics that have not been addressed by previous textbooks. These include a discussion of the computational complexity of learning and the concepts of convexity and stability; important algorithmic paradigms including stochastic gradient descent, neural networks, and structured output learning; and emerging theoretical concepts such as the PAC-Bayes approach and compression-based bounds. Designed for an advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate course, the text makes the fundamentals and algorithms of machine learning accessible to students and non-expert readers in statistics, computer science, mathematics, and engineering.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107057135
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/19/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	410
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Shai Shalev-Shwartz is an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Shai Ben-David is a Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction; Part I. Foundations: 2. A gentle start; 3. A formal learning model; 4. Learning via uniform convergence; 5. The bias-complexity trade-off; 6. The VC-dimension; 7. Non-uniform learnability; 8. The runtime of learning; Part II. From Theory to Algorithms: 9. Linear predictors; 10. Boosting; 11. Model selection and validation; 12. Convex learning problems; 13. Regularization and stability; 14. Stochastic gradient descent; 15. Support vector machines; 16. Kernel methods; 17. Multiclass, ranking, and complex prediction problems; 18. Decision trees; 19. Nearest neighbor; 20. Neural networks; Part III. Additional Learning Models: 21. Online learning; 22. Clustering; 23. Dimensionality reduction; 24. Generative models; 25. Feature selection and generation; Part IV. Advanced Theory: 26. Rademacher complexities; 27. Covering numbers; 28. Proof of the fundamental theorem of learning theory; 29. Multiclass learnability; 30. Compression bounds; 31. PAC-Bayes; Appendix A. Technical lemmas; Appendix B. Measure concentration; Appendix C. Linear algebra.

Editorial Reviews

"This elegant book covers both rigorous theory and practical methods of machine learning. This makes it a rather unique resource, ideal for all those who want to understand how to find structure in data."
Bernhard Schölkopf, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

"This is a timely text on the mathematical foundations of machine learning, providing a treatment that is both deep and broad, not only rigorous but also with intuition and insight. It presents a wide range of classic, fundamental algorithmic and analysis techniques as well as cutting-edge research directions. This is a great book for anyone interested in the mathematical and computational underpinnings of this important and fascinating field."
Avrim Blum, Carnegie Mellon University

"This text gives a clear and broadly accessible view of the most important ideas in the area of full information decision problems. Written by two key contributors to the theoretical foundations in this area, it covers the range from theoretical foundations to algorithms, at a level appropriate for an advanced undergraduate course."
Peter L. Bartlett, University of California, Berkeley

From the Publisher