Unified Robust Boosting

Abstract: Boosting is a popular algorithm in supervised machine learning with wide applications in regression and classification problems. It combines weak learners, such as regression trees, to obtain accurate predictions. However, in the presence of outliers, traditional boosting may yield inferior results since the algorithm optimizes a convex loss function. Recent literature has proposed boosting algorithms that optimize robust nonconvex loss functions. Nevertheless, there is a lack of weighted estimation to indicate the outlier status of observations. This article introduces the iteratively reweighted boosting (IRBoost) algorithm, which combines robust loss optimization and weighted estimation. It can be conveniently constructed with existing software. The output includes weights as valuable diagnostics for the outlier status of observations. For practitioners interested in the boosting algorithm, the new method can be interpreted as a way to tune robust observation weights. IRBoost is implemented in the R package irboost and is demonstrated using publicly available data in generalized linear models, classification, and survival data analysis.