# Delve into the Applicability of Advanced Optimizers for Multi-Task Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.08939 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.08939/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 27 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Apr 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 27 of 27)

- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [The Cityscapes Dataset for Semantic Urban Scene Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1604.01685/) (2016)
- [Deep Learning Face Attributes in the Wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1411.7766/) (2014)
- [SegNet: A Deep Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Architecture for Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.00561/) (2015)
- [Multi-Task Learning Using Uncertainty to Weigh Losses for Scene Geometry and Semantics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.07115/) (2017)
- [Gradient Surgery for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.06782/) (2020)
- [On the Convergence of Adam and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.09237/) (2019)
- [Multi-Task Learning as Multi-Objective Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.04650/) (2018)
- [On the Variance of the Adaptive Learning Rate and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.03265/) (2019)
- [End-to-End Multi-Task Learning with Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.10704/) (2018)
- [Conflict-Averse Gradient Descent for Multi-task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14048/) (2021)
- [Efficiently Identifying Task Groupings for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.04617/) (2021)
- [Multi-Task Learning as a Bargaining Game](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.01017/) (2022)
- [Just Pick a Sign: Optimizing Deep Multitask Models with Gradient Sign Dropout](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.06808/) (2020)
- [Adaptive Gradient Methods with Dynamic Bound of Learning Rate](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.09843/) (2019)
- [Attentive Single-Tasking of Multiple Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.08918/) (2019)
- [Reasonable Effectiveness of Random Weighting: A Litmus Test for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.10603/) (2021)
- [FAMO: Fast Adaptive Multitask Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.03792/) (2023)
- [Independent Component Alignment for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19000/) (2023)
- [Fair Resource Allocation in Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15638/) (2024)
- [Jacobian Descent for Multi-Objective Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.16232/) (2024)
- [MultiTask-CenterNet (MCN): Efficient and Diverse Multitask Learning using an Anchor Free Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.05060/) (2021)
- [Layer by Layer: Uncovering Where Multi-Task Learning Happens in Instruction-Tuned Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.20008/) (2024)
- [GO4Align: Group Optimization for Multi-Task Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.06486/) (2024)
- [LDC-MTL: Balancing Multi-Task Learning through Scalable Loss Discrepancy Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.08585/) (2025)
- [Continual Optimization with Symmetry Teleportation for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04046/) (2025)
- [Injecting Imbalance Sensitivity for Multi-Task Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.08006/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [MAdam: Metric-Aware Multi-Objective Adam](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.03904/) (2026)
- [MOSAIC: Modality-Specific Adaptation for Incremental Continual Learning in Parkinson's Disease Gait Assessment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.13258/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Multi-Task Learning (MTL) is a foundational machine learning problem that has seen extensive development over the past decade. Recently, various optimization-based MTL approaches have been proposed to learn multiple tasks simultaneously by altering the optimization trajectory. Although these methods strive to de-conflict and re-balance tasks, we empirically identify that their effectiveness is often undermined by an overlooked factor when employing advanced optimizers: the instant-derived gradients play only a marginal role in the actual parameter updates. This discrepancy prevents MTL frameworks from fully releasing its power on learning dynamics. Furthermore, we observe that Muon-a recently emerged advanced optimizer-inherently functions as a multi-task learner, which underscores the critical importance of the gradients used for its orthogonalization. To address these issues, we propose APT (Applicability of advanced oPTimizers), a framework featuring a simple adaptive momentum mechanism designed to balance the strengths between advanced optimizers and MTL. Additionally, we introduce a light direction preservation method to facilitate Muon's orthogonalization. Extensive experiments across four mainstream MTL datasets demonstrate that APT consistently augments existing MTL approaches, yielding substantial performance improvements.