Multi-objective genetic algorithm for multi-view feature selection

Multi-view datasets offer diverse forms of data that can enhance prediction models by providing complementary information. However, the use of multi-view data leads to an increase in high-dimensional data, which poses significant challenges for the prediction models that can lead to poor generalization. Therefore, relevant feature selection from multi-view datasets is important as it not only addresses the poor generalization but also enhances the interpretability of the models. Despite the success of traditional feature selection methods, they have limitations in leveraging intrinsic information across modalities, lacking generalizability, and being tailored to specific classification tasks. We propose a novel genetic algorithm strategy to overcome these limitations of traditional feature selection methods for multi-view data. Our proposed approach, called the multi-view multi-objective feature selection genetic algorithm (MMFS-GA), simultaneously selects the optimal subset of features within a view and between views under a unified framework. The MMFS-GA framework demonstrates superior performance and interpretability for feature selection on multi-view datasets in both binary and multiclass classification tasks. The results of our evaluations on nine benchmark datasets, including synthetic and real data, show improvement over the best baseline methods. This work provides a promising solution for multi-view feature selection and opens up new possibilities for further research in multi-view datasets. • Novel MMFS-GA method for multi-view feature selection in classification tasks. • Stable feature selection in multi-view datasets with distinct/similar dimensions. • Balanced convergence and diversity via duplicate elimination strategy. • Validated on diverse datasets for binary and multiclass classification.