Tackling concept drift by temporal inductive transfer

Machine learning is the mainstay for text classification. However, even the most successful techniques are defeated by many real-world applications that have a strong time-varying component. To advance research on this challenging but important problem, we promote a natural, experimental framework-the Daily Classification Task-which can be applied to large time-based datasets, such as Reuters RCV1.In this paper we dissect concept drift into three main subtypes. We demonstrate via a novel visualization that the recurrent themes subtype is present in RCV1. This understanding led us to develop a new learning model that transfers induced knowledge through time to benefit future classifier learning tasks. The method avoids two main problems with existing work in inductive transfer: scalability and the risk of negative transfer. In empirical tests, it consistently showed more than 10 points F-measure improvement for each of four Reuters categories tested.