# SubZeroCore: A Submodular Approach with Zero Training for Coreset Selection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.21748 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.21748/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 48 of its 76 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Sep 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 48)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Very Deep Convolutional Networks for Large-Scale Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1409.1556/) (2014)
- [A Unified Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.07874/) (2017)
- [Rethinking the Inception Architecture for Computer Vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.00567/) (2015)
- [Wide Residual Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.07146/) (2016)
- [Understanding Black-box Predictions via Influence Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.04730/) (2017)
- [Deep Clustering for Unsupervised Learning of Visual Features](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.05520/) (2018)
- [An Empirical Study of Example Forgetting during Deep Neural Network Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.05159/) (2018)
- [Learning to Reweight Examples for Robust Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.09050/) (2018)
- [Deep Batch Active Learning by Diverse, Uncertain Gradient Lower Bounds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.03671/) (2019)
- [Deep Learning on a Data Diet: Finding Important Examples Early in Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.07075/) (2021)
- [Beyond neural scaling laws: beating power law scaling via data pruning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.14486/) (2022)
- [Reliable Fidelity and Diversity Metrics for Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.09797/) (2020)
- [BatchBALD: Efficient and Diverse Batch Acquisition for Deep Bayesian Active Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.08158/) (2019)
- [Dataset Cartography: Mapping and Diagnosing Datasets with Training Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.10795/) (2020)
- [Variational Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10628/) (2017)
- [Not All Samples Are Created Equal: Deep Learning with Importance Sampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.00942/) (2018)
- [GRAD-MATCH: Gradient Matching based Data Subset Selection for Efficient Deep Model Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00123/) (2021)
- [Identifying Mislabeled Data using the Area Under the Margin Ranking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.10528/) (2020)
- [Dataset Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.10959/) (2018)
- [GLISTER: Generalization based Data Subset Selection for Efficient and Robust Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.10630/) (2020)
- [Predictability and Surprise in Large Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.07785/) (2022)
- [Coresets via Bilevel Optimization for Continual Learning and Streaming](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.03875/) (2020)
- [Adversarial Active Learning for Deep Networks: a Margin Based Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.09841/) (2018)
- [Active Learning by Acquiring Contrastive Examples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.03764/) (2021)
- [DeepCore: A Comprehensive Library for Coreset Selection in Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.08499/) (2022)
- [Online Coreset Selection for Rehearsal-based Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01085/) (2021)
- [Submodular Combinatorial Information Measures with Applications in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.15412/) (2020)
- [Practical Coreset Constructions for Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.06476/) (2017)
- [ACAV100M: Automatic Curation of Large-Scale Datasets for Audio-Visual Video Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10803/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The goal of coreset selection is to identify representative subsets of datasets for efficient model training. Yet, existing approaches paradoxically require expensive training-based signals, e.g., gradients, decision boundary estimates or forgetting counts, computed over the entire dataset prior to pruning, which undermines their very purpose by requiring training on samples they aim to avoid. We introduce SubZeroCore, a novel, training-free coreset selection method that integrates submodular coverage and density into a single, unified objective. To achieve this, we introduce a sampling strategy based on a closed-form solution to optimally balance these objectives, guided by a single hyperparameter that explicitly controls the desired coverage for local density measures. Despite no training, extensive evaluations show that SubZeroCore matches training-based baselines and significantly outperforms them at high pruning rates, while dramatically reducing computational overhead. SubZeroCore also demonstrates superior robustness to label noise, highlighting its practical effectiveness and scalability for real-world scenarios.