Implicit Bias of Gradient Descent on Reparametrized Models: On Equivalence to Mirror Descent

Zhiyuan Li, Tianhao Wang, Jason D. Lee, Sanjeev Arora

Keywords: implicit bias, gradient descent, mirror descent

Abstract: As part of the effort to understand implicit bias of gradient descent in overparametrized models, several results have shown how the training trajectory on the overparametrized model can be understood as mirror descent on a different objective. The main result here is a complete characterization of this phenomenon under a notion termed commuting parametrization, which encompasses all the previous results in this setting. It is shown that gradient flow with any commuting parametrization is equivalent to continuous mirror descent with a related mirror map. Conversely, continuous mirror descent with any mirror map can be viewed as gradient flow with a related commuting parametrization. The latter result relies upon Nash's embedding theorem.