On the stability and bias–variance analysis of sparse SVMs

Stability and bias–variance analysis are two powerful tools to better understand learning algorithms. We use these tools to analyze a class of support vector machines (SVMs) that try to reduce classifier complexity. The motivation for doing this is to compare the original and modified SVMs on two behavioral dimensions (a) stability and (b) learning behavior. Our preliminary experimental results show that (i) the class of algorithms which reduce classifier complexity by reducing the number of support vectors (SVs) are potentially unstable and (ii) the learning behavior is quite similar to the original SVMs.