What graph neural networks cannot learn: depth vs widthDownload PDF

Published: 20 Dec 2019, Last Modified: 05 May 2023ICLR 2020 Conference Blind SubmissionReaders: Everyone
Abstract: This paper studies the expressive power of graph neural networks falling within the message-passing framework (GNNmp). Two results are presented. First, GNNmp are shown to be Turing universal under sufficient conditions on their depth, width, node attributes, and layer expressiveness. Second, it is discovered that GNNmp can lose a significant portion of their power when their depth and width is restricted. The proposed impossibility statements stem from a new technique that enables the repurposing of seminal results from distributed computing and leads to lower bounds for an array of decision, optimization, and estimation problems involving graphs. Strikingly, several of these problems are deemed impossible unless the product of a GNNmp's depth and width exceeds a polynomial of the graph size; this dependence remains significant even for tasks that appear simple or when considering approximation.
Keywords: graph neural networks, capacity, impossibility results, lower bounds, expressive power
TL;DR: Several graph problems are impossible unless the product of a graph neural network's depth and width exceeds a polynomial of the graph size.
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