Self-Directed Learning of Convex Labelings on Graphs

We study the problem of classifying the nodes of a given graph in the self-directed learning setup. This learning setting is a variant of online learning, where rather than an adversary determining the sequence in which nodes are presented, the learner autonomously and adaptively selects them. While self-directed learning of Euclidean halfspaces, linear functions, and general multiclass hypothesis classes was recently considered, no results previously existed specifically for self-directed node classification on graphs. In this paper, we address this problem developing efficient algorithms for it. More specifically, we focus on the case of (geodesically) convex clusters, i.e., for every two nodes sharing the same label, all nodes on every shortest path between them also share the same label. In particular, we devise an algorithm with runtime polynomial in $n$ that makes only $3(h(G)+1)^4 \ln n$ mistakes on graphs with two convex clusters, where $n$ is the total number of nodes and $h(G)$ is the Hadwiger number, i.e., the size of the largest clique minor of the graph $G$. We also show that our algorithm is robust to the case that clusters are slightly non-convex, still achieving a mistake bound logarithmic in $n$. Finally, we devise a simple and efficient algorithm for homophilic clusters, where strongly connected nodes tend to belong to the same class.

@article{sokolov2025_2409.01428,
  title={ Self-Directed Learning of Convex Labelings on Graphs },
  author={ Georgy Sokolov and Maximilian Thiessen and Margarita Akhmejanova and Fabio Vitale and Francesco Orabona },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2409.01428},
  year={ 2025 }
}