# Infinite dSprites for Disentangled Continual Learning: Separating Memory Edits from Generalization

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.16731 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.16731/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 46 of its 58 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Dec 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 46)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00020/) (2021)
- [An Image is Worth 16x16 Words: Transformers for Image Recognition at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.11929/) (2020)
- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09685/) (2021)
- [A Simple Framework for Contrastive Learning of Visual Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.05709/) (2020)
- [ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1409.0575/) (2014)
- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [Learning without Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.09282/) (2016)
- [iCaRL: Incremental Classifier and Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.07725/) (2016)
- [Gradient Episodic Memory for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.08840/) (2017)
- [Visual Prompt Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.12119/) (2022)
- [Progressive Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04671/) (2016)
- [Continual Learning with Deep Generative Replay](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.08690/) (2017)
- [Efficient Lifelong Learning with A-GEM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.00420/) (2018)
- [Learning to Prompt for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.08654/) (2021)
- [Challenging Common Assumptions in the Unsupervised Learning of Disentangled Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.12359/) (2018)
- [Dark Experience for General Continual Learning: a Strong, Simple Baseline](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.07211/) (2020)
- [Deep Learning and the Information Bottleneck Principle](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.02406/) (2015)
- [DualPrompt: Complementary Prompting for Rehearsal-free Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.04799/) (2022)
- [ImageNet-21K Pretraining for the Masses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.10972/) (2021)
- [Gradient based sample selection for online continual learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.08671/) (2019)
- [Online Continual Learning with Maximally Interfered Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.04742/) (2019)
- [PathNet: Evolution Channels Gradient Descent in Super Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.08734/) (2017)
- [Variational Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10628/) (2017)
- [CORe50: a New Dataset and Benchmark for Continuous Object Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.03550/) (2017)
- [Selective Experience Replay for Lifelong Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.10269/) (2018)
- [A Practical Method for Constructing Equivariant Multilayer Perceptrons for Arbitrary Matrix Groups](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.09459/) (2021)
- [Revisiting Class-Incremental Learning with Pre-Trained Models: Generalizability and Adaptivity are All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.07338/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Object segmentation from common fate: Motion energy processing enables human-like zero-shot generalization to random dot stimuli](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.01505/) (2024)
- [Equivariance by Contrast: Identifiable Equivariant Embeddings from Unlabeled Finite Group Actions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.21706/) (2025)
- [Vision Transformers Learn Gestalt-Like Figure-Ground Cues from Natural Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.08932/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The ability of machine learning systems to learn continually is hindered by catastrophic forgetting, the tendency of neural networks to overwrite previously acquired knowledge when learning a new task. Existing methods mitigate this problem through regularization, parameter isolation, or rehearsal, but they are typically evaluated on benchmarks comprising only a handful of tasks. In contrast, humans are able to learn over long time horizons in dynamic, open-world environments, effortlessly memorizing unfamiliar objects and reliably recognizing them under various transformations. To make progress towards closing this gap, we introduce Infinite dSprites, a parsimonious tool for creating continual classification and disentanglement benchmarks of arbitrary length and with full control over generative factors. We show that over a sufficiently long time horizon, the performance of all major types of continual learning methods deteriorates on this simple benchmark. This result highlights an important and previously overlooked aspect of continual learning: given a finite modelling capacity and an arbitrarily long learning horizon, efficient learning requires memorizing class-specific information and accumulating knowledge about general mechanisms. In a simple setting with direct supervision on the generative factors, we show how learning class-agnostic transformations offers a way to circumvent catastrophic forgetting and improve classification accuracy over time. Our approach sets the stage for continual learning over hundreds of tasks with explicit control over memorization and forgetting, emphasizing open-set classification and one-shot generalization.