Mitigating false negatives in imbalanced datasets: An ensemble approach

Imbalanced datasets present a challenge in machine learning, especially in binary classification scenarios where one class significantly outweighs the other. This imbalance often leads to models favoring the majority class, resulting in inadequate predictions for the minority class, specifically in false negatives. In response to this issue, this work introduces the MinFNR ensemble algorithm, designed to minimize False Negative Rates (FNR) in imbalanced datasets. The new approach strategically combines data-level, algorithmic-level, and hybrid-level approaches to enhance overall predictive capabilities while minimizing computational resources using the Set Covering Problem (SCP) formulation. Through a comprehensive evaluation of diverse datasets, MinFNR consistently outperforms individual algorithms, showing its potential for applications where the cost of false negatives is substantial, such as fraud detection and medical diagnosis. This work also contributes to ongoing efforts to improve the reliability and effectiveness of machine learning algorithms in real imbalanced scenarios.