The Algorithmic Foundations of Data Privacy
CSCI 8980
Fall 2018


Lecture schedule.

The lecture schedule will be updated throughout the semester.

Note:
DR = Dwork and Roth, "The Algorithmic Foundations of Differential Privacy"
V = Vadhan, "The Complexity of Differential Privacy"

Date Topic Reading
Wed
9/5		 Course Overview;
Intro to Differential Privacy		 DR 1.*
Mon
9/10		 Formalizing Differential Privacy:
Laplace Mechanism		 DR 1.*, 2.*, 3.1-3.2
Wed
9/12		 Gaussian Mechanism; Approximate DP
Post-Processing; Group privacy		 DR 1.*, 2.*, 3.1-3.2
V 2.*
Mon
9/17		 Basic/Advanced Composition
Exponential Mechanism		 DR 3.4, 4.1
V 2.*
Wed
9/19		 DP as a tool for mechanism design
Query release: smallDB		 DR 3.4
Survey by Pai and Roth
Mon
9/24		 AboveThreshold
Sparse Vector Mechanism		 DR 3.6
Wed
9/26		 Online learning and game theory
Multiplicative weights algorithm		 Survey on MW
Homework1 on Canvas
Mon
10/1		 Private Multiplicative weights;
Zero-sum game view on query release		 DR 4.2;
Query release zero-sum game
Wed
10/3		 Online query release;
Private GAN		 DR 4.2;
Code for DP GAN
Mon
10/8		 Private Convex Optimization:
output/objective perturbation		 [CMS]: perturbation
[BST]: exponential sampling
Wed
10/10		 Private Convex Optimization:
gradient descent		 Section 3 of [Bubeck]
[BST]: private SGD
Mon
10/15		 Private gradient descent:
strong convexity		 Section 3 of [Bubeck]
[BST]: private SGD
Wed
10/17		 Online/stochastic gradient descent:
Subsampling; non-convex optimization		 [Zin03]: OGD
Blogpost on subsampling
[Abadi et al.16]: DP deep learning
Mon
10/22		 PAC learning basics:
sample complexity; VC dimension		 DR 11.*;
[SSBD14]: sec 3
Wed
10/24		 PAC learning basics:
uniform convergence; Symmetrization		 DR 11.*;
[SSBD14]: sec 3
Mon
10/29		 Private PAC learning:
sample complexity and algorithms		 DR 11.*;
[BNSV15]: Impossibility result on threshold learning
Wed
10/31		 Private PAC learning:
Littlestone dimension; connections to online learning		 [SSBD14]: sec 21.1.1 on online learnability
Mon
11/5		 Oracle-efficient Private learning [NRW18]
Wed
11/7		 Adaptive data analysis:
statistical query model		 Blogpost on WackyBoost
Lecture note by AR/AS
Mon
11/12		 Stability and Generalization:
Uniform-stability, TV-stability		 Lecture note by AR/AS
Wed
11/14		 DP and Generalization:
Transfer theorem; monitor technique		 Lecture note by AR/AS
Mon
11/19		 Reusable holdout:
Sparse vector/thresholdout		 [Dwork et al. 2015]
Wed
11/21		 No class
Mon
11/26		 Local privacy:
Randomized response; histogram