Regularizers versus Losses for Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction: A Factored View with New Convex Relaxations

Abstract: We demonstrate that almost all non-parametric dimensionality reduction methods can be expressed by a simple procedure: regularized loss minimization plus singular value truncation. By distinguishing the role of the loss and regularizer in such a process, we recover a factored perspective that reveals some gaps in the current literature. Beyond identifying a useful new loss for manifold unfolding, a key contribution is to derive new convex regularizers that combine distance maximization with rank reduction. These regularizers can be applied to any loss.