arXiv:2604.09677cs.NEcs.LG2026-04

蚂蚁群落的学习机制与深度学习算法完全同构。

Isomorphic Functionalities between Ant Colony and Ensemble Learning: Part III -- Gradient Descent, Neural Plasticity, and the Emergence of Deep Intelligence

  • 蚁群代际演化等同于梯度下降,信息素更新即权重更新
  • 蚁群学习曲线与神经网络训练结果无法区分,验证同构性
  • 适合对生物智能与机器学习统一原理感兴趣的读者

在本系列前两部分中,我们建立了蚁群决策与两类主流集成学习方法——随机森林(并行、方差降低)和提升法(串行、偏差降低)之间的同构关系。本文作为三部曲的收官之作,进一步证明深度神经网络的核心学习算法——随机梯度下降,与蚁群代际学习动态在数学上完全同构。我们证明,信息素跨代演变遵循与梯度下降中权重更新相同的更新方程,信息素蒸发率对应学习率,蚁群适应度对应负损失值,招募波对应反向传播过程。此外,神经可塑性机制——长期增强、长期抑制、突触修剪和神经发生——在群体层面均有直接对应:路径强化、信息素蒸发、路径废弃和新路径生成。综合仿真表明,蚁群在环境任务中训练所得的学习曲线与神经网络在相似问题上的训练结果无法区分。这一最终同构揭示了三种主流机器学习范式——并行集成、串行集成和基于梯度的深度学习——均能在社会昆虫的集体智能中找到直接映射,暗示一种超越载体的统一学习理论。我们结论:蚁群不仅是学习算法的类比,更是学习基本原理的活体体现。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

In Parts I and II of this series, we established isomorphisms between ant colony decision-making and two major families of ensemble learning: random forests (parallel, variance reduction) and boosting (sequential, bias reduction). Here we complete the trilogy by demonstrating that the fundamental learning algorithm underlying deep neural networks -- stochastic gradient descent -- is mathematically isomorphic to the generational learning dynamics of ant colonies. We prove that pheromone evolution across generations follows the same update equations as weight evolution during gradient descent, with evaporation rates corresponding to learning rates, colony fitness corresponding to negative loss, and recruitment waves corresponding to backpropagation passes. We further show that neural plasticity mechanisms -- long-term potentiation, long-term depression, synaptic pruning, and neurogenesis -- have direct analogs in colony-level adaptation: trail reinforcement, evaporation, abandonment, and new trail formation. Comprehensive simulations confirm that ant colonies trained on environmental tasks exhibit learning curves indistinguishable from neural networks trained on analogous problems. This final isomorphism reveals that all three major paradigms of machine learning -- parallel ensembles, sequential ensembles, and gradient-based deep learning -- have direct analogs in the collective intelligence of social insects, suggesting a unified theory of learning that transcends substrate. The ant colony, we conclude, is not merely analogous to learning algorithms; it is a living embodiment of the fundamental principles of learning itself.

蚁群算法深度学习同构性集体智能

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