# Drift to Remember

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.13997 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.13997/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 33 of its 68 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Sep 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 33)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [Parameter-Efficient Transfer Learning for NLP](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.00751/) (2019)
- [Learning without Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.09282/) (2016)
- [iCaRL: Incremental Classifier and Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.07725/) (2016)
- [Character-level Convolutional Networks for Text Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1509.01626/) (2015)
- [Gradient Episodic Memory for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.08840/) (2017)
- [Progressive Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04671/) (2016)
- [Continual Lifelong Learning with Neural Networks: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07569/) (2018)
- [Continual Learning with Deep Generative Replay](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.08690/) (2017)
- [Experience Replay for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.11682/) (2018)
- [Efficient Lifelong Learning with A-GEM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.00420/) (2018)
- [PackNet: Adding Multiple Tasks to a Single Network by Iterative Pruning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.05769/) (2017)
- [Lifelong Learning with Dynamically Expandable Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.01547/) (2017)
- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting with hard attention to the task](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.01423/) (2018)
- [Efficient Large-Scale Language Model Training on GPU Clusters Using Megatron-LM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.04473/) (2021)
- [Three scenarios for continual learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.07734/) (2019)
- [AdapterHub: A Framework for Adapting Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.07779/) (2020)
- [Expert Gate: Lifelong Learning with a Network of Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.06194/) (2016)
- [On Tiny Episodic Memories in Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.10486/) (2019)
- [Online Continual Learning in Image Classification: An Empirical Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10423/) (2021)
- [Overcoming Catastrophic Forgetting by Incremental Moment Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.08475/) (2017)
- [LAMOL: LAnguage MOdeling for Lifelong Language Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.03329/) (2019)
- [Continual Lifelong Learning in Natural Language Processing: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.09823/) (2020)
- [Adding Gradient Noise Improves Learning for Very Deep Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.06807/) (2015)
- [A Neural Dirichlet Process Mixture Model for Task-Free Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.00689/) (2020)
- [Lifelong Language Pretraining with Distribution-Specialized Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.12281/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Ice Cream Doesn't Cause Drowning: Benchmarking LLMs Against Statistical Pitfalls in Causal Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.13770/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Lifelong learning in artificial intelligence (AI) aims to mimic the biological brain's ability to continuously learn and retain knowledge, yet it faces challenges such as catastrophic forgetting. Recent neuroscience research suggests that neural activity in biological systems undergoes representational drift, where neural responses evolve over time, even with consistent inputs and tasks. We hypothesize that representational drift can alleviate catastrophic forgetting in AI during new task acquisition. To test this, we introduce DriftNet, a network designed to constantly explore various local minima in the loss landscape while dynamically retrieving relevant tasks. This approach ensures efficient integration of new information and preserves existing knowledge. Experimental studies in image classification and natural language processing demonstrate that DriftNet outperforms existing models in lifelong learning. Importantly, DriftNet is scalable in handling a sequence of tasks such as sentiment analysis and question answering using large language models (LLMs) with billions of parameters on a single Nvidia A100 GPU. DriftNet efficiently updates LLMs using only new data, avoiding the need for full dataset retraining. Tested on GPT-2 and RoBERTa, DriftNet is a robust, cost-effective solution for lifelong learning in LLMs. This study not only advances AI systems to emulate biological learning, but also provides insights into the adaptive mechanisms of biological neural systems, deepening our understanding of lifelong learning in nature.