Frequency Principle: Fourier Analysis Sheds Light on Deep Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Xu, Zhi-Qin John, Zhang, Yaoyu, Luo, Tao, Xiao, Yanyang, Ma, Zheng
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2019
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_version_ 1866916254787305472
author Xu, Zhi-Qin John
Zhang, Yaoyu
Luo, Tao
Xiao, Yanyang
Ma, Zheng
author_facet Xu, Zhi-Qin John
Zhang, Yaoyu
Luo, Tao
Xiao, Yanyang
Ma, Zheng
contents We study the training process of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) from the Fourier analysis perspective. We demonstrate a very universal Frequency Principle (F-Principle) -- DNNs often fit target functions from low to high frequencies -- on high-dimensional benchmark datasets such as MNIST/CIFAR10 and deep neural networks such as VGG16. This F-Principle of DNNs is opposite to the behavior of most conventional iterative numerical schemes (e.g., Jacobi method), which exhibit faster convergence for higher frequencies for various scientific computing problems. With a simple theory, we illustrate that this F-Principle results from the regularity of the commonly used activation functions. The F-Principle implies an implicit bias that DNNs tend to fit training data by a low-frequency function. This understanding provides an explanation of good generalization of DNNs on most real datasets and bad generalization of DNNs on parity function or randomized dataset.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1901_06523
institution arXiv
publishDate 2019
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Frequency Principle: Fourier Analysis Sheds Light on Deep Neural Networks
Xu, Zhi-Qin John
Zhang, Yaoyu
Luo, Tao
Xiao, Yanyang
Ma, Zheng
Machine Learning
68Q32, 68T01
I.2.6
We study the training process of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) from the Fourier analysis perspective. We demonstrate a very universal Frequency Principle (F-Principle) -- DNNs often fit target functions from low to high frequencies -- on high-dimensional benchmark datasets such as MNIST/CIFAR10 and deep neural networks such as VGG16. This F-Principle of DNNs is opposite to the behavior of most conventional iterative numerical schemes (e.g., Jacobi method), which exhibit faster convergence for higher frequencies for various scientific computing problems. With a simple theory, we illustrate that this F-Principle results from the regularity of the commonly used activation functions. The F-Principle implies an implicit bias that DNNs tend to fit training data by a low-frequency function. This understanding provides an explanation of good generalization of DNNs on most real datasets and bad generalization of DNNs on parity function or randomized dataset.
title Frequency Principle: Fourier Analysis Sheds Light on Deep Neural Networks
topic Machine Learning
68Q32, 68T01
I.2.6
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.06523