mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Structured Transformations for Stable and Interpretable Neural Computation

arXiv 2508.00127 ↗First posted 31 Jul 2025cs.LGcited by 2

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Abstract (arXiv)

Despite their impressive performance, contemporary neural networks often lack structural safeguards that promote stable learning and interpretable behavior. In this work, we introduce a reformulation of layer-level transformations that departs from the standard unconstrained affine paradigm. Each transformation is decomposed into a structured linear operator and a residual corrective component, enabling more disciplined signal propagation and improved training dynamics. Our formulation encourages internal consistency and supports stable information flow across depth, while remaining fully compatible with standard learning objectives and backpropagation. Through a series of synthetic and real-world experiments, we demonstrate that models constructed with these structured transformations exhibit improved gradient conditioning, reduced sensitivity to perturbations, and layer-wise robustness. We further show that these benefits persist across architectural scales and training regimes. This study serves as a foundation for a more principled class of neural architectures that prioritize stability and transparency-offering new tools for reasoning about learning behavior without sacrificing expressive power.

Key facts. Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 23 of its 26 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 31 Jul 2025.

Builds on

23 of 26 references.

References · 23

  1. 2023Small-scale proxies for large-scale Transformer training instabilitiescited by 183
  2. 2023Understanding plasticity in neural networkscited by 174
  3. 2023Stabilizing Transformer Training by Preventing Attention Entropy Collapsecited by 161
  4. 2022Signal Propagation in Transformers: Theoretical Perspectives and the Role of Rank Collapsecited by 141
  5. 2023How Do Transformers Learn Topic Structure: Towards a Mechanistic Understandingcited by 86
  6. 2024Disentangling the Causes of Plasticity Loss in Neural Networkscited by 86
  7. 2022Gradient flow dynamics of shallow ReLU networks for square loss and orthogonal inputscited by 76
  8. 2024PirateNets: Physics-informed Deep Learning with Residual Adaptive Networkscited by 72
  9. 2022Anti-Symmetric DGN: a stable architecture for Deep Graph Networkscited by 60
  10. 2022Implicit Regularization Towards Rank Minimization in ReLU Networkscited by 53
  11. 2022Learning threshold neurons via the "edge of stability"cited by 51
  12. 2023Direct Parameterization of Lipschitz-Bounded Deep Networkscited by 51
11 more
  1. 2023Break It Down: Evidence for Structural Compositionality in Neural Networkscited by 44
  2. 2023The Implicit Regularization of Dynamical Stability in Stochastic Gradient Descentcited by 44
  3. 2022The Neural Race Reduction: Dynamics of Abstraction in Gated Networkscited by 37
  4. 2022A Closer Look at Learned Optimization: Stability, Robustness, and Inductive Biasescited by 30
  5. 2022Implicit Regularization in Hierarchical Tensor Factorization and Deep Convolutional Neural Networkscited by 27
  6. 2022On the Versatile Uses of Partial Distance Correlation in Deep Learningcited by 19
  7. 2023Can Transformers Learn to Solve Problems Recursively?cited by 17
  8. 2023The Implicit Bias of Minima Stability in Multivariate Shallow ReLU Networkscited by 15
  9. 2022Singular Value Perturbation and Deep Network Optimizationcited by 11
  10. 2023Neural Characteristic Activation Analysis and Geometric Parameterization for ReLU Networkscited by 5
  11. 2022Neural Network Optimal Feedback Control with Guaranteed Local Stabilitycited by 2

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Citing papers per year: 2025: 2.

2 papers.