Timezone: »

 
Poster
LCA: Loss Change Allocation for Neural Network Training
Janice Lan · Rosanne Liu · Hattie Zhou · Jason Yosinski

Tue Dec 10 05:30 PM -- 07:30 PM (PST) @ East Exhibition Hall B + C #99
in Deep Learning -- Optimization for Deep Networks »

Neural networks enjoy widespread use, but many aspects of their training, representation, and operation are poorly understood. In particular, our view into the training process is limited, with a single scalar loss being the most common viewport into this high-dimensional, dynamic process. We propose a new window into training called Loss Change Allocation (LCA), in which credit for changes to the network loss is conservatively partitioned to the parameters. This measurement is accomplished by decomposing the components of an approximate path integral along the training trajectory using a Runge-Kutta integrator. This rich view shows which parameters are responsible for decreasing or increasing the loss during training, or which parameters "help" or "hurt" the network's learning, respectively. LCA may be summed over training iterations and/or over neurons, channels, or layers for increasingly coarse views. This new measurement device produces several insights into training. (1) We find that barely over 50% of parameters help during any given iteration. (2) Some entire layers hurt overall, moving on average against the training gradient, a phenomenon we hypothesize may be due to phase lag in an oscillatory training process. (3) Finally, increments in learning proceed in a synchronized manner across layers, often peaking on identical iterations.

Keywords: Optimization for Deep Networks · Visualization or Exposition Techniques for Deep Networks · Deep Learning · Deep Learning; Deep Learning
[ Paper]  [ Poster] 

Author Information

Janice Lan (Uber AI)
Rosanne Liu (Uber AI Labs)
Hattie Zhou (Uber)
Jason Yosinski (Uber AI; Recursion)

Dr. Jason Yosinski is a machine learning researcher, was a founding member of Uber AI Labs, and is scientific adviser to Recursion Pharmaceuticals and several other companies. His work focuses on building more capable and more understandable AI. As scientists and engineers build increasingly powerful AI systems, the abilities of these systems increase faster than does our understanding of them, motivating much of his work on AI Neuroscience: an emerging field of study that investigates fundamental properties and behaviors of AI systems. Dr. Yosinski completed his PhD as a NASA Space Technology Research Fellow working at the Cornell Creative Machines Lab, the University of Montreal, Caltech/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Google DeepMind. His work on AI has been featured on NPR, Fast Company, the Economist, TEDx, XKCD, and on the BBC. Prior to his academic career, Jason cofounded two web technology companies and started a program in the Los Angeles school district that teaches students algebra via hands-on robotics. In his free time, Jason enjoys cooking, sailing, motorcycling, reading, paragliding, and sometimes pretending he's an artist.

More from the Same Authors