Description of the Training Process of Neural Networks via Ergodic Theorem : Ghost nodes
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Abstract (arXiv)
Recent studies have proposed interpreting the training process from an ergodic perspective. Building on this foundation, we present a unified framework for understanding and accelerating the training of deep neural networks via stochastic gradient descent (SGD). By analyzing the geometric landscape of the objective function we introduce a practical diagnostic, the running estimate of the largest Lyapunov exponent, which provably distinguishes genuine convergence toward stable minimizers from mere statistical stabilization near saddle points. We then propose a ghost category extension for standard classifiers that adds auxiliary ghost output nodes so the model gains extra descent directions that open a lateral corridor around narrow loss barriers and enable the optimizer to bypass poor basins during the early training phase. We show that this extension strictly reduces the approximation error and that after sufficient convergence the ghost dimensions collapse so that the extended model coincides with the original one and there exists a path in the enlarged parameter space along which the total loss does not increase. Taken together, these results provide a principled architecture level intervention that accelerates early stage trainability while preserving asymptotic behavior and simultaneously serves as an architecture-friendly regularizer.
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References · 8
- 2018Reconciling modern machine learning practice and the bias-variance trade-offcited by 919
- 2019Deep Double Descent: Where Bigger Models and More Data Hurtcited by 667
- 2018Gradient Descent Provably Optimizes Over-parameterized Neural Networkscited by 655
- 2014Identifying and attacking the saddle point problem in high-dimensional non-convex optimizationcited by 286
- 2014The Loss Surfaces of Multilayer Networkscited by 278
- 2021Neural Network Weights Do Not Converge to Stationary Points: An Invariant Measure Perspectivecited by 15
- 2023Stochastic Methods in Variational Inequalities: Ergodicity, Bias and Refinementscited by 6
- 2023Deep neural networks from the perspective of ergodic theorycited by 2
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