Auxiliary Learning as an Asymmetric Bargaining Game
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Abstract (arXiv)
Auxiliary learning is an effective method for enhancing the generalization capabilities of trained models, particularly when dealing with small datasets. However, this approach may present several difficulties: (i) optimizing multiple objectives can be more challenging, and (ii) how to balance the auxiliary tasks to best assist the main task is unclear. In this work, we propose a novel approach, named AuxiNash, for balancing tasks in auxiliary learning by formalizing the problem as generalized bargaining game with asymmetric task bargaining power. Furthermore, we describe an efficient procedure for learning the bargaining power of tasks based on their contribution to the performance of the main task and derive theoretical guarantees for its convergence. Finally, we evaluate AuxiNash on multiple multi-task benchmarks and find that it consistently outperforms competing methods.
Key facts. Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 44 of its 67 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 31 Jan 2023.
Builds on
44 of 67 references.
References · 44
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32 more
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Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2024: 8; 2025: 3; 2026: 1.
12 papers.
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- 2024Bayesian Uncertainty for Gradient Aggregation in Multi-Task Learningcited by 11
- 2024Enhancing Domain Adaptation through Prompt Gradient Alignmentcited by 8
- 2024Using dynamic loss weighting to boost improvements in forecast stabilitycited by 4
- 2025Expert Merging in Sparse Mixture of Experts with Nash Bargainingcited by 3
- 2025Model Merging via Multi-Teacher Knowledge Distillationcited by 2
- 2024Enhancing Molecular Property Prediction with Auxiliary Learning and Task-Specific Adaptationcited by 1
- 2024Rethinking Teacher-Student Curriculum Learning through the Cooperative Mechanics of Experiencecited by 1
- 2024Learning Representation for Multitask learning through Self Supervised Auxiliary learningcited by 1
- 2026Not All Objectives Are Born Equal: Priority-Constrained Descent for Hierarchical Multi-Objective Optimizationcited by 1
- 2024Two-Stage Multi-task Self-Supervised Learning for Medical Image Segmentationcited by 0
- 2025Generating Auxiliary Tasks with Reinforcement Learningcited by 0
- 2026Not All Objectives Are Born Equal: Priority-Constrained Descent for Hierarchical Multi-Objective Optimization28 Jun 2026
- 2025Model Merging via Multi-Teacher Knowledge Distillation24 Dec 2025
- 2025Generating Auxiliary Tasks with Reinforcement Learning27 Oct 2025
- 2025Expert Merging in Sparse Mixture of Experts with Nash Bargaining17 Oct 2025
- 2024LLM-Rubric: A Multidimensional, Calibrated Approach to Automated Evaluation of Natural Language Texts31 Dec 2024
- 2024Using dynamic loss weighting to boost improvements in forecast stability26 Sep 2024
- 2024Learning Representation for Multitask learning through Self Supervised Auxiliary learning25 Sep 2024
- 2024Enhancing Domain Adaptation through Prompt Gradient Alignment13 Jun 2024
- 2024Rethinking Teacher-Student Curriculum Learning through the Cooperative Mechanics of Experience3 Apr 2024
- 2024Two-Stage Multi-task Self-Supervised Learning for Medical Image Segmentation11 Feb 2024
- 2024Bayesian Uncertainty for Gradient Aggregation in Multi-Task Learning6 Feb 2024
- 2024Enhancing Molecular Property Prediction with Auxiliary Learning and Task-Specific Adaptation29 Jan 2024