保留正文与补采附件。源页面当前未重新核验;具体限制见交付清单。
We value your privacy
We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyse our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.
Customise Reject All Accept All
Customise Consent Preferences
We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.
The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... Show more
NecessaryAlways Active
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.
Cookie BCTempID
Duration 10 minutes
Description No description available.
Cookie __cf_bm
Duration 1 hour
Description This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
Cookie AWSALBCORS
Duration 7 days
Description Amazon Web Services set this cookie for load balancing.
Cookie _cfuvid
Duration session
Description Cloudflare sets this cookie to track users across sessions to optimize user experience by maintaining session consistency and providing personalized services
Cookie li_gc
Duration 6 months
Description Linkedin set this cookie for storing visitor's consent regarding using cookies for non-essential purposes.
Cookie __hssrc
Duration session
Description This cookie is set by Hubspot whenever it changes the session cookie. The __hssrc cookie set to 1 indicates that the user has restarted the browser, and if the cookie does not exist, it is assumed to be a new session.
Cookie __hssc
Duration 1 hour
Description HubSpot sets this cookie to keep track of sessions and to determine if HubSpot should increment the session number and timestamps in the __hstc cookie.
Cookie wpEmojiSettingsSupports
Duration session
Description WordPress sets this cookie when a user interacts with emojis on a WordPress site. It helps determine if the user's browser can display emojis properly.
Cookie BCSessionID
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Blueconic sets this cookie as a unique identifier for the BlueConic profile.
Cookie _octo
Duration 1 year
Description No description available.
Cookie logged_in
Duration 1 year
Description No description available.
Cookie __Secure-YEC
Duration past
Description YouTube sets this cookie to stores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
Cookie __eoi
Duration 6 months
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie AWSALBTGCORS
Duration 7 days
Description No description available.
Cookie login-status-p
Duration past
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie AWSALBTG
Duration 7 days
Description No description available.
Cookie csrf_token
Duration session
Description No description available.
Cookie token_v2
Duration 1 day
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie D
Duration 1 year
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie PHPSESSID
Duration session
Description This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie stores and identifies a user's unique session ID to manage user sessions on the website. The cookie is a session cookie and will be deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
Cookie VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA
Duration 6 months
Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain.
Cookie cookietest
Duration session
Description The cookietest cookie is typically used to determine whether the user's browser accepts cookies, essential for website functionality and user experience.
Cookie __Host-airtable-session
Duration 1 year
Description This cookie is used to enable us to integrate the services of Airtable.
Cookie __Host-airtable-session.sig
Duration 1 year
Description This cookie is used to enable us to integrate the services of Airtable.
Cookie m
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Stripe sets this cookie for fraud prevention purposes. It identifies the device used to access the website, allowing the website to be formatted accordingly.
Cookie BIGipServer*
Duration session
Description Marketo sets this cookie to collect information about the user's online activity and build a profile about their interests to provide advertisements relevant to the user.
Cookie __cfruid
Duration session
Description Cloudflare sets this cookie to identify trusted web traffic.
Cookie _GRECAPTCHA
Duration 6 months
Description Google Recaptcha service sets this cookie to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
Cookie __Secure-YNID
Duration 6 months
Description Google cookie used to protect user security and prevent fraud, especially during the login process.
Cookie cookieyes-consent
Duration 1 year
Description CookieYes sets this cookie to remember users' consent preferences so that their preferences are respected on subsequent visits to this site. It does not collect or store any personal information about the site visitors.
Functional Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.
Cookie lidc
Duration 1 day
Description LinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
Cookie brw
Duration 1 year
Description No description available.
Cookie brwConsent
Duration 5 minutes
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie WMF-Uniq
Duration 1 year
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie loom_anon_comment
Duration 1 year
Description No description available.
Cookie loom_referral_video
Duration session
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Duration 6 months
Description A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
Cookie yt-remote-connected-devices
Duration Never Expires
Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
Cookie ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY
Duration Never Expires
Description The cookie ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY is used by YouTube to store the last search result entry that was clicked by the user. This information is used to improve the user experience by providing more relevant search results in the future.
Cookie yt-remote-device-id
Duration Never Expires
Description YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
Cookie yt-remote-session-name
Duration session
Description The yt-remote-session-name cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
Cookie yt-remote-fast-check-period
Duration session
Description The yt-remote-fast-check-period cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences for embedded YouTube videos.
Cookie yt-remote-session-app
Duration session
Description The yt-remote-session-app cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences and information about the interface of the embedded YouTube video player.
Cookie yt-remote-cast-available
Duration session
Description The yt-remote-cast-available cookie is used to store the user's preferences regarding whether casting is available on their YouTube video player.
Cookie yt-remote-cast-installed
Duration session
Description The yt-remote-cast-installed cookie is used to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
Cookie cp_session
Duration 3 months
Description Codepen sets this cookie for Help systems found in the website.
Cookie loid
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description This cookie is set by the Reddit. The cookie enables the sharing of content from the website onto the social media platform.
Analytics Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie __hstc
Duration 6 months
Description Hubspot set this main cookie for tracking visitors. It contains the domain, initial timestamp (first visit), last timestamp (last visit), current timestamp (this visit), and session number (increments for each subsequent session).
Cookie hubspotutk
Duration 6 months
Description HubSpot sets this cookie to keep track of the visitors to the website. This cookie is passed to HubSpot on form submission and used when deduplicating contacts.
Cookie _ga
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Google Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
Cookie ga*
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
Cookie __Host-psifi.analyticsTrace
Duration 6 hours
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie __Host-psifi.analyticsTraceV2
Duration 6 hours
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie _gh_sess
Duration session
Description GitHub sets this cookie for temporary application and framework state between pages like what step the user is on in a multiple step form.
Cookie YSC
Duration session
Description YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
Cookie ajs_anonymous_id
Duration 1 year
Description This cookie is set by Segment to count the number of people who visit a certain site by tracking if they have visited before.
Cookie vuid
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos on the website.
Performance Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Cookie AWSALB
Duration 7 days
Description AWSALB is an application load balancer cookie set by Amazon Web Services to map the session to the target.
Cookie acq
Duration past
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie acq.sig
Duration past
Description Description is currently not available.
Cookie ptc
Duration 2 years
Description No description available.
Advertisement Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.
Cookie muc_ads
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Twitter sets this cookie to collect user behaviour and interaction data to optimize the website.
Cookie guest_id_marketing
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Twitter sets this cookie to identify and track the website visitor.
Cookie guest_id_ads
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Twitter sets this cookie to identify and track the website visitor.
Cookie personalization_id
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Twitter sets this cookie to integrate and share features for social media and also store information about how the user uses the website, for tracking and targeting.
Cookie guest_id
Duration 1 year 1 month 4 days
Description Twitter sets this cookie to identify and track the website visitor. It registers if a user is signed in to the Twitter platform and collects information about ad preferences.
Cookie bcookie
Duration 1 year
Description LinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser IDs.
Cookie __Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN
Duration 6 months
Description YouTube sets this cookie to manage feature rollout and experimentation. It helps Google control which new features or interface changes are shown to users as part of testing and staged rollouts, ensuring consistent experience for a given user during an experiment.
Cookie yt.innertube::nextId
Duration Never Expires
Description YouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Cookie yt.innertube::requests
Duration Never Expires
Description YouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Cookie session_tracker
Duration session
Description This cookie is set by the Reddit. This cookie is used to identify trusted web traffic. It also helps in adverstising on the website.
Cookie edgebucket
Duration session
Description Reddit sets this cookie to save the information about a log-on Reddit user, for the purpose of advertisement recommendations and updating the content.
Cookie did
Duration 1 year
Description Arbor sets this cookie to show targeted ads to site visitors.This cookie expires after 2 months or 1 year.
Uncategorised Other uncategorised cookies are those that are being analysed and have not been classified into a category as yet. No cookies to display. Reject All Save My Preferences Accept All Toggle SearchToggle Mobile Navigation Publish AI, ML & data-science insights to a global community of data professionals. Sign inSubmit an Article LatestEditor's PicksNewsletterShipAI
Write For TDS LinkedInXToggle Search Programming
How AutoGluon Dominated Kaggle Competitions and How You Can Beat It. The algorithm that beats 99% of Data Scientists with 4 lines of code. Cristian Leo July 3, 202420 min read
Image generated by DALL-E
In two popular Kaggle competitions, AutoGluon beat 99% of the participating data scientists after merely 4h of training on the raw data (AutoGluon Team. "AutoGluon: AutoML for Text, Image, and Tabular Data." 2020) This statement, taken from the AutoGluon research paper, perfectly captures what we will explore today: a machine-learning framework that delivers impressive performance with minimal coding. You only need four lines of code to set up a complete ML pipeline, a task that could otherwise take hours. Yes, just four lines of code! See for yourself: python
from autogluon.tabular import TabularDataset, TabularPredictor
train_data = TabularDataset('train.csv')
predictor = TabularPredictor(label='Target').fit(train_data, presets='best_quality')
predictions = predictor.predict(train_data)
These four lines handle data preprocessing by automatically recognizing the data type of each column, feature engineering by finding useful column combinations, and model training through ensembling to identify the best-performing model within a given time. Notice that I didn't even specify the type of machine learning task (regression/classification). AutoGluon examines the label and determines the task on its own. Am I advocating for this algorithm? Not necessarily. While I appreciate the power of AutoGluon, I prefer solutions that don't reduce data science to mere accuracy scores in a Kaggle competition. However, as these models become increasingly popular and widely adopted, it's important to understand how they work, the math and code behind them, and how you can leverage or outperform them.
AutoGluon is an open-source machine-learning library created by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It's designed to handle the entire ML process for you, from preparing your data to selecting the best model and tuning its settings. AutoGluon combines simplicity with top-notch performance. It employs advanced techniques like ensemble learning and automatic hyperparameter tuning to ensure that the models you create are highly accurate. This means you can develop powerful machine-learning solutions without getting bogged down in the technical details. The library takes care of data preprocessing, feature selection, model training, and evaluation, which significantly reduces the time and effort required to build robust machine-learning models. Additionally, AutoGluon scales well, making it suitable for both small projects and large, complex datasets. For tabular data, AutoGluon can handle both classification tasks, where you categorize data into different groups, and regression tasks, where you predict continuous outcomes. It also supports text data, making it useful for tasks like sentiment analysis or topic categorization. Moreover, it can manage image data, assisting with image recognition and object detection. Although several variations of AutoGluon were built to better handle time-series data, text, and image, here we will focus on the variation to handle tabular data. Let me know if you liked this article and would like future deep dives into its variations. (AutoGluon Team. "AutoGluon: AutoML for Text, Image, and Tabular Data." 2020)
AutoML, short for Automated Machine Learning, is a technology that automates the entire process of applying machine learning to real-world problems. The main goal of AutoML is to make machine learning more accessible and efficient, allowing people to develop models without needing deep expertise. As we've already seen, it handles tasks like data preprocessing, feature engineering, model selection, and hyperparameter tuning, which are usually complex and time-consuming (He et al., "AutoML: A Survey of the State-of-the-Art," 2019). The concept of AutoML has evolved significantly over the years. Initially, machine learning required a lot of manual effort from experts who had to carefully select features, tune hyperparameters, and choose the right algorithms. As the field grew, so did the need for automation to handle increasingly large and complex datasets. Early efforts to automate parts of the process paved the way for modern AutoML systems. Today, AutoML uses advanced techniques like ensemble learning and Bayesian optimization to create high-quality models with minimal human intervention (Feurer et al., "Efficient and Robust Automated Machine Learning," 2015). Several players have emerged in the AutoML space, each offering unique features and capabilities. AutoGluon, developed by Amazon Web Services, is known for its ease of use and strong performance across various data types (AutoGluon Team, "AutoGluon: AutoML for Text, Image, and Tabular Data," 2020). Google Cloud AutoML provides a suite of machine-learning products that allow developers to train high-quality models with minimal effort. H2O.ai offers H2O AutoML, which provides automatic machine-learning capabilities for both supervised and unsupervised learning tasks (H2O.ai, "H2O AutoML: Scalable Automatic Machine Learning," 2020). DataRobot focuses on enterprise-level AutoML solutions, offering robust tools for model deployment and management. Microsoft's Azure Machine Learning also features AutoML capabilities, integrating seamlessly with other Azure services for a comprehensive machine learning solution.
AutoGluon Workflow - Image by Author
The first step in any machine learning pipeline is data preprocessing. This involves cleaning the data by handling missing values, removing duplicates, and correcting errors. Data preprocessing also includes transforming the data into a format suitable for analysis, such as normalizing values, encoding categorical variables, and scaling features. Proper data preprocessing is crucial because the quality of the data directly impacts the performance of the machine learning models.
Once the data is cleaned, the next step is feature engineering. This process involves creating new features or modifying existing ones to improve the model's performance. Feature engineering can be as simple as creating new columns based on existing data or as complex as using domain knowledge to create meaningful features. The right features can significantly enhance the predictive power of the models.
With the data ready and features engineered, the next step is model selection. There are many algorithms to choose from, each with its strengths and weaknesses depending on the problem at hand. AutoML systems evaluate multiple models to identify the best one for the given task. This might involve comparing models like decision trees, support vector machines, neural networks, and others to see which performs best with the data.
After selecting a model, the next challenge is hyperparameter optimization. Hyperparameters are settings that control the behavior of the machine learning algorithm, such as the learning rate in neural networks or the depth of decision trees. Finding the optimal combination of hyperparameters can greatly improve model performance. AutoML uses techniques like grid search, random search, and more advanced methods like Bayesian optimization to automate this process, ensuring the model is fine-tuned for the best results.
The final step is model evaluation and selection. This involves using techniques like cross-validation to assess how well the model generalizes to new data. Various performance metrics, such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score, are used to measure the model's effectiveness. AutoML systems automate this evaluation process, ensuring that the model selected is the best fit for the task. Once the evaluation is complete, the best-performing model is chosen for deployment (AutoGluon Team. "AutoGluon: AutoML for Text, Image, and Tabular Data." 2020).
While AutoML saves time and effort, it can be quite demanding in terms of computational resources. Automating tasks like hyperparameter tuning and model selection often requires running many iterations and training multiple models, which can be a challenge for smaller organizations or individuals without access to high-performance computing. Another challenge is the need for customization. Although AutoML systems are highly effective in many situations, they might not always meet specific requirements right out of the box. Sometimes, the automated processes may not fully capture the unique aspects of a particular dataset or problem. Users may need to tweak parts of the workflow, which can be difficult if the system doesn't offer enough flexibility or if the user lacks the necessary expertise. Despite these challenges, the benefits of AutoML often outweigh the drawbacks. It greatly enhances productivity, broadens accessibility, and offers scalable solutions, enabling more people to leverage the power of machine learning (Feurer et al., "Efficient and Robust Automated Machine Learning," 2015).
AutoGluon's architecture is designed to automate the entire machine learning workflow, from data preprocessing to model deployment. This architecture consists of several interconnected modules, each responsible for a specific stage of the process. The first step is the Data Module , which handles loading and preprocessing data. This module deals with tasks such as cleaning the data, addressing missing values, and transforming the data into a suitable format for analysis. For example, consider a dataset X with missing values. The Data Module might impute these missing values using the mean or median: java
from sklearn.impute import SimpleImputer
imputer = SimpleImputer(strategy='mean')
X_imputed = imputer.fit_transform(X)
Once the data is preprocessed, the Feature Engineering Module takes over. This component generates new features or transforms existing ones to enhance the model's predictive power. Techniques such as one-hot encoding for categorical variables or creating polynomial features for numeric data are common. For instance, encoding categorical variables might look like this: java
from sklearn.preprocessing import OneHotEncoder
encoder = OneHotEncoder()
X_encoded = encoder.fit_transform(X)
At the core of AutoGluon is the Model Module. This module includes a wide array of machine-learning algorithms, such as decision trees, neural networks, and gradient-boosting machines. It trains multiple models on the dataset and evaluates their performance. A decision tree, for example, might be trained as follows: java
from sklearn.tree import DecisionTreeClassifier
model = DecisionTreeClassifier()
model.fit(X_train, y_train)
The Hyperparameter Optimization Module automates the search for the best hyperparameters for each model. It uses methods like grid search, random search, and Bayesian optimization. Bayesian optimization, as detailed in the paper by Snoek et al. (2012), builds a probabilistic model to guide the search process: java
from skopt import BayesSearchCV
search_space = {'max_depth': (1, 32)}
bayes_search = BayesSearchCV(estimator=DecisionTreeClassifier(), search_spaces=search_space)
bayes_search.fit(X_train, y_train)
After training, the Evaluation Module assesses model performance using metrics like accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score. Cross-validation is commonly used to ensure the model generalizes well to new data: java
from sklearn.model_selection import cross_val_score
scores = cross_val_score(model, X, y, cv=5, scoring='accuracy')
mean_score = scores.mean()
AutoGluon excels with its Ensemble Module, which combines the predictions of multiple models to produce a single, more accurate prediction. Techniques like stacking, bagging, and blending are employed. For instance, bagging can be implemented using the BaggingClassifier: java
from sklearn.ensemble import BaggingClassifier
bagging = BaggingClassifier(base_estimator=DecisionTreeClassifier(), n_estimators=10)
bagging.fit(X_train, y_train)
Finally, the Deployment Module handles the deployment of the best model or ensemble into production. This includes exporting the model, generating predictions on new data, and integrating the model into existing systems: go
import joblib
joblib.dump(bagging, 'model.pkl')
These components work together to automate the machine learning pipeline, allowing users to build and deploy high-quality models quickly and efficiently.
Ensemble learning is a key feature of AutoGluon that enhances its ability to deliver high-performing models. By combining multiple models, ensemble methods improve predictive accuracy and robustness. AutoGluon leverages three main ensemble techniques: stacking, bagging, and blending.
Stacking Stacking involves training multiple base models on the same dataset and using their predictions as input features for a higher-level model, often called a meta-model. This approach leverages the strengths of various algorithms, allowing the ensemble to make more accurate predictions. The stacking process can be mathematically represented as follows:
Stacking Formula - Image by Author
Here, h_1 represents the base models, and h_2 is the meta-model. Each base model h_1 takes the input features x_i and produces a prediction. These predictions are then used as input features for the meta-model h_2 , which makes the final prediction y^ . By combining the outputs of different base models, stacking can capture a broader range of patterns in the data, leading to improved predictive performance.
Bagging Bagging, short for Bootstrap Aggregating, improves model stability and accuracy by training multiple instances of the same model on different subsets of the data. These subsets are created by randomly sampling the original dataset with replacement. The final prediction is typically made by averaging the predictions of all the models for regression tasks or by taking a majority vote for classification tasks.
Mathematically, bagging can be represented as follows:
For regression:
Regression in Bagging Formula - Image by Author
For classification:
Classification in Bagging - Image by Author
Here, h_i represents the i-th model trained on a different subset of the data. For regression, the final prediction y^ is the average of the predictions made by each model. For classification, the final prediction y^ is the most frequently predicted class among the models.
The variance reduction effect of bagging can be illustrated by the law of large numbers, which states that the average of the predictions from multiple models will converge to the expected value, reducing the overall variance and improving the stability of the predictions. It can be illustrated as:
Variance Reduction in Bagging - Image by Author
By training on different subsets of the data, bagging also helps in reducing overfitting and increasing the generalizability of the model.
Blending Blending is similar to stacking but with a simpler implementation. In blending, the data is split into two parts: the training set and the validation set. Base models are trained on the training set, and their predictions on the validation set are used to train a final model, also known as the blender or meta-learner. Blending uses a holdout validation set, which can make it faster to implement:
makefile
# Example of blending with simple train-validation split
train_meta, val_meta, y_train_meta, y_val_meta = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2)
base_model_1.fit(train_meta, y_train_meta)
base_model_2.fit(train_meta, y_train_meta)
preds_1 = base_model_1.predict(val_meta)
preds_2 = base_model_2.predict(val_meta)
meta_features = np.column_stack((preds_1, preds_2))
meta_model.fit(meta_features, y_val_meta)
These techniques ensure that the final predictions are more accurate and robust, leveraging the diversity and strengths of multiple models to deliver superior results.
Hyperparameter optimization involves finding the best settings for a model to maximize its performance. AutoGluon automates this process using advanced techniques like Bayesian optimization, early stopping, and smart resource allocation.
Bayesian Optimization Bayesian optimization aims to find the optimal set of hyperparameters by building a probabilistic model of the objective function. It uses past evaluation results to make informed decisions about which hyperparameters to try next. This is particularly useful for efficiently navigating large and complex hyperparameter spaces, reducing the number of evaluations needed to find the best configuration:
Bayesian Optimization Formula - Image by Author
where f(θ) is the objective function want to optimize, such as model accuracy or loss. θ represents the hyperparameters. E[f(θ)] is the expected value of the objective function given the hyperparameters θ.
Bayesian optimization involves two main steps:
The optimization iteratively updates the surrogate model and acquisition function to converge on the optimal set of hyperparameters with fewer evaluations compared to grid or random search methods. Early Stopping Techniques Early stopping prevents overfitting and reduces training time by halting the training process once the model's performance stops improving on a validation set. AutoGluon monitors the performance of the model during training and stops the process when further training is unlikely to yield significant improvements. This technique not only saves computational resources but also ensures that the model generalizes well to new, unseen data: python
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.metrics import log_loss
X_train, X_val, y_train, y_val = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2)
model = DecisionTreeClassifier()
best_loss = np.inf
for epoch in range(100):
model.fit(X_train, y_train)
val_preds = model.predict(X_val)
loss = log_loss(y_val, val_preds)
if loss < best_loss:
best_loss = loss
else:
break
Resource Allocation Strategies Effective resource allocation is crucial in hyperparameter optimization, especially when dealing with limited computational resources. AutoGluon employs strategies like multi-fidelity optimization, where the system initially trains models with a subset of the data or fewer epochs to quickly assess their potential. Promising models are then allocated more resources for thorough evaluation. This approach balances exploration and exploitation, ensuring that computational resources are used effectively:
Multi-Fidelity Optimization Formula - Image by Author
In this formula:
By initially training models with reduced fidelity (e.g., using fewer data points or epochs), multi-fidelity optimization quickly identifies promising candidates. These candidates are then trained with higher fidelity, ensuring that computational resources are used effectively. This approach balances the exploration of the hyperparameter space with the exploitation of known good configurations, leading to efficient and effective hyperparameter optimization.
Model evaluation and selection ensure the chosen model performs well on new, unseen data. AutoGluon automates this process using cross-validation techniques, performance metrics, and automated model selection criteria.
Cross-Validation Techniques Cross-validation involves splitting the data into multiple folds and training the model on different subsets while validating it on the remaining parts. AutoGluon uses techniques like k-fold cross-validation, where the data is divided into k subsets, and the model is trained and validated k times, each time with a different subset as the validation set. This helps in obtaining a reliable estimate of the model's performance and ensures that the evaluation is not biased by a particular train-test split:
Cross-Validation Accuracy Formula - Image by Author
Performance Metrics To evaluate the quality of a model, AutoGluon relies on various performance metrics, which depend on the specific task at hand. For classification tasks, common metrics include accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC). For regression tasks, metrics like mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE), and R-squared are often used. AutoGluon automatically calculates these metrics during the evaluation process, providing a comprehensive view of the model's strengths and weaknesses:
makefile
from sklearn.metrics import accuracy_score, precision_score, recall_score, f1_score
y_pred = model.predict(X_val)
accuracy = accuracy_score(y_val, y_pred)
precision = precision_score(y_val, y_pred)
recall = recall_score(y_val, y_pred)
f1 = f1_score(y_val, y_pred)
Automated Model Selection Criteria After evaluating the models, AutoGluon uses automated criteria to select the best-performing one. This involves comparing the performance metrics across different models and choosing the model that excels in the most relevant metrics for the task. AutoGluon also considers factors like model complexity, training time, and resource efficiency. The automated model selection process ensures that the chosen model not only performs well but is also practical to deploy and use in real-world scenarios. By automating this selection, AutoGluon eliminates human bias and ensures a consistent and objective approach to choosing the best model: python
best_model = max(models, key=lambda model: model['score'])
Before diving into using AutoGluon, you need to set up your environment. This involves installing the necessary libraries and dependencies. You can install AutoGluon using pip. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command: bash
pip install autogluon
This command will install AutoGluon along with its required dependencies. Next, you need to download the data. You'll need to install Kaggle to download the dataset for this example: typescript
pip install kaggle
After installing, download the dataset by running these commands in your terminal. Make sure you're in the same directory as your notebook file: bash
mkdir data
cd data
kaggle competitions download -c playground-series-s4e6
unzip "Academic Succession/playground-series-s4e6.zip"
Alternatively, you can manually download the dataset from the recent Kaggle competition "Classification with an Academic Success Dataset". The dataset is free for commercial use.
Once your environment is set up, you can use AutoGluon to build and evaluate machine learning models. First, you need to load and prepare your dataset. AutoGluon makes this process straightforward. Suppose you have a CSV file named train.csv containing your training data:
python
from autogluon.tabular import TabularDataset, TabularPredictor
# Load the dataset
train_df = TabularDataset('data/train.csv')
With the data loaded, you can train a model using AutoGluon. In this example, we will train a model to predict a target variable named 'Target' and use accuracy as the evaluation metric. We will also enable hyperparameter tuning and automatic stacking to improve model performance: python
# Train the model
predictor = TabularPredictor(
label='Target',
eval_metric='accuracy',
verbosity=1
).fit(
train_df,
presets=['best_quality'],
hyperparameter_tune=True,
auto_stack=True
)
After training, you can evaluate the model's performance using the leaderboard, which provides a summary of the model's performance on the training data: python
# Evaluate the model
leaderboard = predictor.leaderboard(train_df, silent=True)
print(leaderboard)
The leaderboard gives you a detailed comparison of all the models trained by AutoGluon.
Let's break down the key columns and what they mean:
RandomForestEntr_BAG_L1 refers to a Random Forest model using entropy as the criterion, bagged at level 1.1.00 indicates perfect accuracy for some models. Contrary to its name, score_test is the training dataset used during training.Looking at the provided leaderboard, we can see some models like RandomForestEntr_BAG_L1 and RandomForestGini_BAG_L1 have perfect train accuracy (1.000000) but slightly lower validation accuracy, suggesting potential overfitting. WeightedEnsemble_L2, which combines the predictions of level 1 models, generally shows good performance by balancing the strengths of its base models.
Models such as LightGBMLarge_BAG_L1 and XGBoost_BAG_L1 have competitive validation scores and reasonable training and prediction times, making them strong candidates for deployment.
The fit_time and pred_time columns offer insights into the computational efficiency of each model, which is crucial for practical applications.
In addition to the leaderboard, AutoGluon offers several advanced features that allow you to customize the training process, handle imbalanced datasets, and perform hyperparameter tuning.
You can customize various aspects of the training process by adjusting the parameters of the fit method. For example, you can change the number of training iterations, specify different algorithms to use, or set custom hyperparameters for each algorithm.
python
from autogluon.tabular import TabularPredictor, TabularDataset
# Load the dataset
train_df = TabularDataset('train.csv')
# Define custom hyperparameters
hyperparameters = {
'GBM': {'num_boost_round': 200},
'NN': {'epochs': 10},
'RF': {'n_estimators': 100},
}
# Train the model with custom settings
predictor = TabularPredictor(
label='Target',
eval_metric='accuracy',
verbosity=2
).fit(
train_data=train_df,
hyperparameters=hyperparameters
)
Imbalanced datasets can be challenging, but AutoGluon provides tools to handle them effectively. You can use techniques such as oversampling the minority class, undersampling the majority class, or applying cost-sensitive learning algorithms. AutoGluon can automatically detect and handle imbalances in your dataset. python
from autogluon.tabular import TabularPredictor, TabularDataset
# Load the dataset
train_df = TabularDataset('train.csv')
# Handle imbalanced datasets by specifying custom parameters
# AutoGluon can handle this internally but specifying here for clarity
hyperparameters = {
'RF': {'n_estimators': 100, 'class_weight': 'balanced'},
'GBM': {'num_boost_round': 200, 'scale_pos_weight': 2},
}
# Train the model with settings for handling imbalance
predictor = TabularPredictor(
label='Target',
eval_metric='accuracy',
verbosity=2
).fit(
train_data=train_df,
hyperparameters=hyperparameters
)
Hyperparameter tuning is crucial for optimizing model performance. AutoGluon automates this process using advanced techniques like Bayesian optimization. You can enable hyperparameter tuning by setting hyperparameter_tune=True in the fit method.
python
from autogluon.tabular import TabularPredictor, TabularDataset
# Load the dataset
train_df = TabularDataset('train.csv')
# Train the model with hyperparameter tuning
predictor = TabularPredictor(
label='Target',
eval_metric='accuracy',
verbosity=2
).fit(
train_data=train_df,
presets=['best_quality'],
hyperparameter_tune=True
)
Let's explore how you could potentially outperform an AutoML model. Let's assume your main goal is to improve the loss metric, rather than focusing on latency, computational costs, or other metrics. If you have a large dataset that's well-suited for deep learning, you might find it easier to experiment with deep learning architectures. AutoML frameworks often struggle in this area because deep learning requires a thorough understanding of the dataset, and blindly applying models can be very time and resource-consuming. Here are some resources to get you started with Deep Learning:
The Math Behind Neural Networks The Math Behind Fine-Tuning Deep Neural Networks The Math Behind LSTM However, the real challenge lies in beating AutoML with traditional machine learning tasks. AutoML systems typically use ensembling, which means you'll likely end up doing the same thing. A good starting strategy could be to first fit an AutoML model. For instance, using AutoGluon, you can identify which models performed best. You can then take these models and recreate the ensemble architecture that AutoGluon used. By optimizing these models further with a technique like Optuna, you might be able to achieve better performance. Here's a comprehensive guide to master Optuna: Machine Learning Optimization with Optuna Additionally, applying domain knowledge to feature engineering can give you an edge. Understanding the specifics of your data can help you create more meaningful features, which can significantly boost your model's performance. If applicable, augment your dataset to provide more varied training examples, which can help improve the robustness of your models. By combining these strategies with the insights gained from an initial AutoML model, you can outperform the automated approach and achieve superior results.
AutoGluon revolutionizes the ML process by automating everything from data preprocessing to model deployment. Its cutting-edge architecture, powerful ensemble learning techniques, and sophisticated hyperparameter optimization make it an indispensable tool for newcomers and seasoned data scientists. With AutoGluon, you can transform complex, time-consuming tasks into streamlined workflows, enabling you to build top-tier models with unprecedented speed and efficiency. However, to truly excel in machine learning, it's essential not to rely solely on AutoGluon. Use it as a foundation to jumpstart your projects and gain insights into effective model strategies. From there, dive deeper into understanding your data and applying domain knowledge for feature engineering. Experiment with custom models and fine-tune them beyond AutoGluon's initial offerings.
All articles on Towards Data Science are available to registered users. Create a free account today to access this article and thousands more. Register for freeSign in to your account
Written By
See all from Cristian Leo Deep DivesDeep LearningMachine LearningProgrammingPython Share This Article
Towards Data Science is a community publication. Submit your insights to reach our global audience and earn through the TDS Author Payment Program. Write for TDS
Machine Learning In this blog, we explore the problem of fake news detection related to COVID-19 and describe our approach to tackle it using NLP. Prathyush Potluri December 4, 202010 min read
Machine Learning Understanding P-values and ML use cases Sadrach Pierre, Ph.D. January 6, 20237 min read
Data Science How to detect it and which model to choose. Arnaud Capitaine September 5, 202511 min read
Artificial Intelligence Detailing and Building a Logistic Regression model from scratch Kurtis Pykes July 15, 202011 min read
Always wanted to create a dashboard, but concerned about where you have to host it and learning CSS and HTML seems daunting? Then this... Adrienne Kline June 6, 20224 min read
Artificial Intelligence In my previous blog talking about TextGenie, I mentioned the issues I faced while collecting text data from scratch and using paraphrases... Het Pandya June 29, 20213 min read
Artificial Intelligence What are the rewards? Soner Yıldırım August 24, 20214 min read
Artificial Intelligence The way I use to extract data from PDF scanned images Low Wei Hong September 29, 20194 min read
Machine Learning We introduce an approach called ImPULSE Classifier with improved performance on balanced and imbalanced PU data compared to other... Volodymyr Holomb April 6, 20235 min read
Your home for data science and AI. The world's leading publication for data science, data analytics, data engineering, machine learning, and artificial intelligence professionals. Subscribe to Our NewsletterWrite For TDS•About•Advertise•Privacy Policy•Terms of Use © Insight Media Group, LLC 2026•The New Stack•roadmap.sh•Creator Network
Close