arXiv:2505.13471cs.LG2025-05被引 3

揭示神经网络激活对齐的成因,找到隐藏的主基向量

The Spotlight Resonance Method: Resolving the Alignment of Embedded Activations

  • 通过视角共振法分析各层激活向量与主基向量的对齐关系
  • 发现激活函数直接决定主基,导致表示自然对齐神经元基
  • 可识别'祖母细胞'神经元,适用于模型解释与机制研究

当前深度学习模型的数据表示机制难以理解,主要受限于可用方法较少。本文提出一种新颖且通用的可视化工具——视角共振法,用于确定任意深度学习模型任意层中嵌入数据的轴对齐特性。该方法评估网络特权基向量定义平面上的激活分布,提供原子级与整体直观的度量,使正负信号均参与贡献,将激活向量视为整体进行分析。根据应用场景,提出多种变体并引入分辨率尺度超参数,以探测不同角度尺度。实验证明,嵌入表示倾向于与特权基对齐,而此基并非标准基,而是由激活函数直接决定。这建立了功能形式对称性破缺与表征对齐之间的直接因果联系,解释了为何表示会趋向于与神经元基对齐。最终,该方法在多种网络中发现了所谓‘祖母细胞’神经元。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Understanding how deep learning models represent data is currently difficult due to the limited number of methodologies available. This paper demonstrates a versatile and novel visualisation tool for determining the axis alignment of embedded data at any layer in any deep learning model. In particular, it evaluates the distribution around planes defined by the network's privileged basis vectors. This method provides both an atomistic and a holistic, intuitive metric for interpreting the distribution of activations across all planes. It ensures that both positive and negative signals contribute, treating the activation vector as a whole. Depending on the application, several variations of this technique are presented, with a resolution scale hyperparameter to probe different angular scales. Using this method, multiple examples are provided that demonstrate embedded representations tend to be axis-aligned with the privileged basis. This is not necessarily the standard basis, and it is found that activation functions directly result in privileged bases. Hence, it provides a direct causal link between functional form symmetry breaking and representational alignment, explaining why representations have a tendency to align with the neuron basis. Therefore, using this method, we begin to answer the fundamental question of what causes the observed tendency of representations to align with neurons. Finally, examples of so-called grandmother neurons are found in a variety of networks.

模型解释激活对齐神经元基可视化

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