Pre-training also Transfers Non-robustness

Jiaming Zhang, Jitao Sang, Qi Yi, Yunfan Yang, Huiwen Dong, Jian Yu

Keywords: adversarial robustness, non-robust feature, transfer learning, pre-training

Abstract: Pre-training has enabled state-of-the-art results on many tasks. In spite of its recognized contribution to generalization, we observed in this study that pre-training also transfers adversarial non-robustness from pre-trained model into fine-tuned model in the downstream tasks. Using image classification as an example, we first conducted experiments on various datasets and network backbones to uncover the adversarial non-robustness in fine-tuned model. Further analysis was conducted on examining the learned knowledge of fine-tuned model and standard model, and revealed that the reason leading to the non-robustness is the non-robust features transferred from pre-trained model. Finally, we analyzed the preference for feature learning of the pre-trained model, explored the factors influencing robustness, and introduced a simple robust pre-traning solution.

One-sentence Summary: Pre-training transfers adversarial non-robustness from pre-trained model into fine-tuned model in the downstream tasks.

Community Implementations: [ 1 code implementation](https://www.catalyzex.com/paper/arxiv:2106.10989/code)