PAC-Chernoff Bounds: Understanding Generalization in the Interpolation Regime

In this paper, we present a distribution-dependent PAC-Chernoff bound that is perfectly tight for interpolators even under overparametrized model classes. This bound relies on basic principles of Large Deviation Theory and naturally provides a characterization of the smoothness of a model described as a simple real-valued function. Based on this distribution-dependent bound and the novel definition of smoothness, we propose an unifying theoretical explanation of why some interpolators generalize remarkably well while others not. And why a wide range of …

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