13 accepted papers
Communication efficiency is a central challenge in distributed machine learning training, and message compression is a widely used solution. However, standard Error Feedback (EF) methods (Seide et al., 2014), though effective for smooth unconstrained optimization with compression (Karimireddy et al.…
We present a novel parameter-free universal gradient method for solving convex optimization problems. Our algorithm—Dual Averaging with Distance Adaptation (DADA)–is based on the classical scheme of dual averaging and dynamically adjusts its coefficients based on the observed gradients and the dista…
Different federated optimization algorithms typically employ distinct client-selection strategies: some methods communicate only with a randomly sampled subset of clients at each round, while others need to periodically communicate with all clients or use a hybrid scheme that combines both strategie…
We introduce *Decoupled SGDA*, a novel adaptation of Stochastic Gradient Descent Ascent (SGDA) tailored for multiplayer games with intermittent strategy communication. Unlike prior methods, Decoupled SGDA enables players to update strategies locally using outdated opponent strategies, significantly…
Reducing communication complexity is critical for efficient decentralized optimization. The proximal decentralized optimization (PDO) framework is particularly appealing, as methods within this framework can exploit functional similarity among nodes to reduce communication rounds. Specifically, when…
We study gradient methods for optimizing $(L_0, L_1)$-smooth functions, a class that generalizes Lipschitz-smooth functions and has gained attention for its relevance in machine learning. We provide new insights into the structure of this function class and develop a principled framework for analyzi…
Federated learning is a distributed optimization paradigm that allows training machine learning models across decentralized devices while keeping the data localized. The standard method, FedAvg, suffers from client drift which can hamper performance and increase communication costs over centralized…
The stochastic proximal gradient method is a powerful generalization of the widely used stochastic gradient descent (SGD) method and has found numerous applications in Machine Learning. However, it is notoriously known that this method fails to converge in non-convex settings where the stochastic no…
In developing efficient optimization algorithms, it is crucial to account for communication constraints—a significant challenge in modern Federated Learning. The best-known communication complexity among non-accelerated algorithms is achieved by DANE, a distributed proximal-point algorith…
We develop universal gradient methods for Stochastic Convex Optimization (SCO). Our algorithms automatically adapt not only to the oracle's noise but also to the Hölder smoothness of the objective function without a priori knowledge of the particular setting. The key ingredient is a novel strategy f…
We present adaptive gradient methods (both basic and accelerated) for solving convex composite optimization problems in which the main part is approximately smooth (a.k.a. $(\delta, L)$-smooth) and can be accessed only via a (potentially biased) stochastic gradient oracle. This setting covers many i…
We study first-order methods with preconditioning for solving structured convex optimization problems. We propose a new family of preconditioners generated by the symmetric polynomials. They provide the first-order optimization methods with a provable improvement of the condition number, cutting the…
We consider the problem of minimizing the strongly convex sum of a finite number of convex functions. Standard algorithms for solving this problem in the class of incremental/stochastic methods have at most a linear convergence rate. We propose a new incremental method whose convergence rate is supe…