A Quantitative Approach to Predicting Representational Learning and Performance in Neural Networks

TMLR Paper1380 Authors

14 Jul 2023 (modified: 17 Sept 2024)Rejected by TMLREveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY 4.0
Abstract: A key property of neural networks (both biological and artificial) is how they learn to represent and manipulate input information in order to solve a task. Different types of representations may be suited to different types of tasks, making identifying and understanding learned representations a critical part of understanding and designing useful networks. In this paper, we introduce a new pseudo-kernel based tool for analyzing and predicting learned representations, based only on the initial conditions of the network and the training curriculum. We validate the method on a simple test case, before demonstrating its use on a question about the effects of representational learning on sequential single versus concurrent multitask performance. We show that our method can be used to predict the effects of the scale of weight initialization and training curriculum on representational learning and downstream concurrent multitasking performance.
Submission Length: Long submission (more than 12 pages of main content)
Assigned Action Editor: ~Tim_Genewein1
Submission Number: 1380
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