Understanding Visual Feature Reliance through the Lens of Complexity

Recent studies suggest that deep learning models' inductive bias towards favoring simpler features may be an origin of shortcut learning. Yet, there has been limited focus on understanding the complexities of the myriad features that models learn. In this work, we introduce a new metric for quantifying feature complexity, based on V-information and capturing whether a feature requires complex computational transformations to be extracted. Using this V-information metric, we analyze the complexities of 10,000 features—represented as directions in the penultimate layer—that were extracted from a standard ImageNet-trained vision model. Our study addresses four key questions:First, we ask what features look like as a function of complexity, and find a spectrum of simple-to-complex features present within the model. Second, we ask when features are learned during training. We find that simpler features dominate early in training, and more complex features emerge gradually. Third, we investigate where within the network simple and complex features "flow," and find that simpler features tend to bypass the visual hierarchy via residual connections. Fourth, we explore the connection between features' complexity and their importance for driving the network's decision. We find that complex features tend to be less important. Surprisingly, important features become accessible at earlier layers during training, like a "sedimentation process," allowing the model to build upon these foundational elements.