# Order-Robust Class Incremental Learning: Graph-Driven Dynamic Similarity Grouping

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.20032 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20032/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 48 of its 65 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Feb 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 48)

- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [Learning without Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.09282/) (2016)
- [Gradient Episodic Memory for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.08840/) (2017)
- [Visual Prompt Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.12119/) (2022)
- [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)
- [Memory Aware Synapses: Learning what (not) to forget](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.09601/) (2017)
- [Learning to Prompt for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.08654/) (2021)
- [A Comprehensive Survey of Continual Learning: Theory, Method and Application](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.00487/) (2023)
- [AdaptFormer: Adapting Vision Transformers for Scalable Visual Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.13535/) (2022)
- [DualPrompt: Complementary Prompting for Rehearsal-free Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.04799/) (2022)
- [Learning to Learn without Forgetting by Maximizing Transfer and Minimizing Interference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.11910/) (2018)
- [Surprises in High-Dimensional Ridgeless Least Squares Interpolation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.08560/) (2019)
- [CODA-Prompt: COntinual Decomposed Attention-based Prompting for Rehearsal-Free Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.13218/) (2022)
- [Expert Gate: Lifelong Learning with a Network of Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.06194/) (2016)
- [Scaling & Shifting Your Features: A New Baseline for Efficient Model Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.08823/) (2022)
- [FOSTER: Feature Boosting and Compression for Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.04662/) (2022)
- [Revisiting Class-Incremental Learning with Pre-Trained Models: Generalizability and Adaptivity are All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.07338/) (2023)
- [RanPAC: Random Projections and Pre-trained Models for Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.02251/) (2023)
- [Continual Learning with Pre-Trained Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.16386/) (2024)
- [Scalable and Order-robust Continual Learning with Additive Parameter Decomposition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.09432/) (2019)
- [A Unified Continual Learning Framework with General Parameter-Efficient Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.10070/) (2023)
- [Harmless interpolation of noisy data in regression](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.09139/) (2019)
- [Hierarchical Decomposition of Prompt-Based Continual Learning: Rethinking Obscured Sub-optimality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.07234/) (2023)
- [Self-Sustaining Representation Expansion for Non-Exemplar Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.06359/) (2022)
- [Expandable Subspace Ensemble for Pre-Trained Model-Based Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.12030/) (2024)
- [Preventing Zero-Shot Transfer Degradation in Continual Learning of Vision-Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.06628/) (2023)
- [Generative Feature Replay For Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.09199/) (2020)
- [Achieving Forgetting Prevention and Knowledge Transfer in Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.02706/) (2021)
- [FeCAM: Exploiting the Heterogeneity of Class Distributions in Exemplar-Free Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14062/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [AFCL: Analytic Federated Continual Learning for Spatio-Temporal Invariance of Non-IID Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.12245/) (2025)
- [ErrorEraser: Unlearning Data Bias for Improved Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09347/) (2025)
- [HERMAN: Hierarchical Representation Matching for CLIP-based Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.22645/) (2025)
- [Hierarchical Semantic Tree Anchoring for CLIP-Based Class-Incremental Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.15633/) (2025)
- [The Lie of the Average: How Class Incremental Learning Evaluation Deceives You?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.22580/) (2025)
- [MOSAIC: Modality-Specific Adaptation for Incremental Continual Learning in Parkinson's Disease Gait Assessment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.13258/) (2026)
- [Task-Anchored Representation Shaping for Pre-Trained Model-Based Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.16345/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Class Incremental Learning (CIL) aims to enable models to learn new classes sequentially while retaining knowledge of previous ones. Although current methods have alleviated catastrophic forgetting (CF), recent studies highlight that the performance of CIL models is highly sensitive to the order of class arrival, particularly when sequentially introduced classes exhibit high inter-class similarity. To address this critical yet understudied challenge of class order sensitivity, we first extend existing CIL frameworks through theoretical analysis, proving that grouping classes with lower pairwise similarity during incremental phases significantly improves model robustness to order variations. Building on this insight, we propose Graph-Driven Dynamic Similarity Grouping (GDDSG), a novel method that employs graph coloring algorithms to dynamically partition classes into similarity-constrained groups. Each group trains an isolated CIL sub-model and constructs meta-features for class group identification. Experimental results demonstrate that our method effectively addresses the issue of class order sensitivity while achieving optimal performance in both model accuracy and anti-forgetting capability. Our code is available at https://github.com/AIGNLAI/GDDSG.