Learning to classify by ongoing feature selection

Existing classification algorithms use a set of training examples to select classification features, which are then used for all future applications of the classifier. A major problem with this approach is the selection of a training set: a small set will result in reduced performance, and a large set will require extensive training. In addition, class appearance may change over time requiring an adaptive classification system. In this paper, we propose a solution to these basic problems by developing an on-line feature selection method, which continuously modifies and improves the features used for classification based on the examples provided so far. The method is used for learning a new class, and to continuously improve classification performance as new data becomes available. In ongoing learning, examples are continuously presented to the system, and new features arise from these examples. The method continuously measures the value of the selected features using mutual information, and uses these values to efficiently update the set of selected features when new training information becomes available. The problem is challenging because at each stage the training process uses a small subset of the training data. Surprisingly, with sufficient training data the on-line process reaches the same performance as a scheme that has a complete access to the entire training data.