Formation of Representations in Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Ziyin, Liu, Chuang, Isaac, Galanti, Tomer, Poggio, Tomaso
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Ziyin, Liu
Chuang, Isaac
Galanti, Tomer
Poggio, Tomaso
author_facet Ziyin, Liu
Chuang, Isaac
Galanti, Tomer
Poggio, Tomaso
contents Understanding neural representations will help open the black box of neural networks and advance our scientific understanding of modern AI systems. However, how complex, structured, and transferable representations emerge in modern neural networks has remained a mystery. Building on previous results, we propose the Canonical Representation Hypothesis (CRH), which posits a set of six alignment relations to universally govern the formation of representations in most hidden layers of a neural network. Under the CRH, the latent representations (R), weights (W), and neuron gradients (G) become mutually aligned during training. This alignment implies that neural networks naturally learn compact representations, where neurons and weights are invariant to task-irrelevant transformations. We then show that the breaking of CRH leads to the emergence of reciprocal power-law relations between R, W, and G, which we refer to as the Polynomial Alignment Hypothesis (PAH). We present a minimal-assumption theory proving that the balance between gradient noise and regularization is crucial for the emergence of the canonical representation. The CRH and PAH lead to an exciting possibility of unifying major key deep learning phenomena, including neural collapse and the neural feature ansatz, in a single framework.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_03006
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Formation of Representations in Neural Networks
Ziyin, Liu
Chuang, Isaac
Galanti, Tomer
Poggio, Tomaso
Machine Learning
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Understanding neural representations will help open the black box of neural networks and advance our scientific understanding of modern AI systems. However, how complex, structured, and transferable representations emerge in modern neural networks has remained a mystery. Building on previous results, we propose the Canonical Representation Hypothesis (CRH), which posits a set of six alignment relations to universally govern the formation of representations in most hidden layers of a neural network. Under the CRH, the latent representations (R), weights (W), and neuron gradients (G) become mutually aligned during training. This alignment implies that neural networks naturally learn compact representations, where neurons and weights are invariant to task-irrelevant transformations. We then show that the breaking of CRH leads to the emergence of reciprocal power-law relations between R, W, and G, which we refer to as the Polynomial Alignment Hypothesis (PAH). We present a minimal-assumption theory proving that the balance between gradient noise and regularization is crucial for the emergence of the canonical representation. The CRH and PAH lead to an exciting possibility of unifying major key deep learning phenomena, including neural collapse and the neural feature ansatz, in a single framework.
title Formation of Representations in Neural Networks
topic Machine Learning
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.03006