梯度下降会让神经网络依赖特征平均,导致对对抗扰动敏感。
Feature Averaging: An Implicit Bias of Gradient Descent Leading to Non-Robustness in Neural Networks
- 梯度下降倾向于让网络学习特征的平均组合而非独立特征。
- 在正交聚类数据上,模型权重会收敛到聚类中心的平均值。
- 通过细粒度监督可提升鲁棒性,避免特征平均问题。
本文研究梯度下降训练中一种称为“特征平均”的隐式偏差,认为它是深度神经网络非鲁棒性的主要成因之一。即使输入数据包含多个判别性特征,梯度下降仍会使网络依赖这些特征的平均或特定组合进行分类,而非独立利用每个特征。我们以二分类任务为例,对两层ReLU网络进行理论分析,数据分布由互正交中心的多个聚类组成。严格证明了梯度下降会引导网络趋向特征平均:每个隐藏层神经元的权重趋于聚类中心(对应不同特征)的平均值,从而导致网络对与平均特征负方向对齐的输入扰动极为敏感。另一方面,我们证明,若通过更细粒度的监督训练网络以区分个体特征而非仅原始二分类标签,则可实现最优鲁棒性。我们在合成数据集、MNIST和CIFAR-10上验证了理论结果,确认特征平均普遍存在,并显著影响对抗鲁棒性。期望这些理论与实证发现能深化对梯度下降如何塑造特征学习与对抗鲁棒性的理解,以及细粒度监督在提升鲁棒性中的作用。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
In this work, we investigate a particular implicit bias in gradient descent training, which we term "Feature Averaging," and argue that it is one of the principal factors contributing to the non-robustness of deep neural networks. We show that, even when multiple discriminative features are present in the input data, neural networks trained by gradient descent tend to rely on an average (or a certain combination) of these features for classification, rather than distinguishing and leveraging each feature individually. Specifically, we provide a detailed theoretical analysis of the training dynamics of two-layer ReLU networks on a binary classification task, where the data distribution consists of multiple clusters with mutually orthogonal centers. We rigorously prove that gradient descent biases the network towards feature averaging, where the weights of each hidden neuron represent an average of the cluster centers (each corresponding to a distinct feature), thereby making the network vulnerable to input perturbations aligned with the negative direction of the averaged features. On the positive side, we demonstrate that this vulnerability can be mitigated through more granular supervision. In particular, we prove that a two-layer ReLU network can achieve optimal robustness when trained to classify individual features rather than merely the original binary classes. Finally, we validate our theoretical findings with experiments on synthetic datasets, MNIST, and CIFAR-10, and confirm the prevalence of feature averaging and its impact on adversarial robustness. We hope these theoretical and empirical insights deepen the understanding of how gradient descent shapes feature learning and adversarial robustness, and how more detailed supervision can enhance robustness.
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