将图自编码器重新理解为隐式对比学习,揭示其本质是视图设计差异。
Revisiting Graph Autoencoders as Implicit Contrastive Learners
- 把图自编码器看作隐式对比学习,统一理解不同模型的设计差异
- 发现不对称子图视图是提升性能的关键但被忽视的设计维度
- 适用于研究图表示学习机制或设计新模型的研究者
图自编码器(GAE)和图对比学习(GCL)是图上自监督表示学习的两大范式,但常被孤立研究且被视为根本不同的方法。本文从对比学习视角重新审视GAE,表明结构型和特征型GAE均可视为隐式图对比学习器。这一观点揭示,现有GAE的主要差异在于对比视图的构建方式,而非学习目标或架构。基于此,我们提出统一框架,强调对比视图设计是此前未充分探索的核心维度。特别地,我们识别出由子图视图不匹配产生的非对称对比视图是一个重要但被忽视的设计轴。我们在代表性图学习任务上进行系统实验,验证该视角对性能与效率的影响。结果表明,将GAE理解为隐式对比学习,不仅澄清了现有模型的本质,也为设计高效可扩展的图自编码器提供了实用指导。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Graph autoencoders (GAEs) and graph contrastive learning (GCL) are two major paradigms for self-supervised representation learning on graphs, yet they are often studied in isolation and treated as fundamentally different approaches. In this work, we revisit GAEs through the lens of contrastive learning and show that both structure-based and feature-based GAEs can be conceptualized as implicitly graph contrastive learners. This perspective reveals that many existing GAEs differ primarily in how contrastive views are constructed, rather than in their learning objectives or architectures. Building on this insight, we introduce a unified formulation that highlights contrastive view design as a central and previously less explored dimension in GAEs. In particular, we identify asymmetric contrastive views, arising from mismatches in subgraph views, as an important yet underexplored design axis in prior GAE research. We formalize this insight within a unified framework and conduct systematic experiments on representative graph learning tasks to examine its impact on performance and efficiency. Our results show that interpreting GAEs as implicit contrastive learners offers a clearer understanding of existing models and provides practical guidance for designing effective and scalable graph autoencoders.
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