arXiv:2606.18627cs.LG2026-06

修复模型合并中被忽略的关键知识,提升多任务模型性能。

PACT: Preserving Anchored Cores in Task-vectors for Model Merging

论文配图:PACT: Preserving Anchored Cores in Task-vectors for Model Merging
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 识别预训练权重中的关键任务知识(LBW维度),避免其在合并时丢失。
  • 通过正交补对齐,保留任务核心知识,使合并后模型更稳定。
  • 可无缝集成到现有方法,适合需要高效多任务模型的研究者。

模型合并已成为多任务学习的无训练替代方案,旨在将多个特定任务微调的模型融合为单一多任务模型。现有方法大多遵循任务算术范式,将微调权重分解为预训练参数与任务向量,并仅在任务向量空间中进行合并。该范式的有效性依赖于‘任务知识仅编码于任务向量’的假设。我们指出这一假设通常不成立,因预训练模型存在内在任务偏好。我们识别出‘承载墙(LBW)维度’——即部分任务关键知识仍嵌入预训练权重中,未完全转移至任务向量。从标量权重和子空间两个角度刻画了这些维度,覆盖现有主流合并方法。分析表明,忽略LBW维度会导致任务冲突无法完全解决,甚至破坏预训练模型中的任务知识,造成性能下降。为此,我们提出PACT,通过将任务向量的正交补对齐预训练权重子空间,保留其中锚定的任务核心知识(即LBW维度),并在合并前移除对齐部分。我们还基于随机化SVD设计高效变体以提升可扩展性。PACT可无缝集成现有方法。大量实验表明,它持续提升主流合并方法性能,并建立新基准。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Model merging has emerged as a training-free alternative to multi-task learning, aiming to combine multiple task-specific fine-tuned models into a single multi-task model. Most existing model merging approaches follow the Task Arithmetic paradigm, which decomposes fine-tuned weights into pre-trained parameters and task vectors, and performs merging exclusively in the task-vector space. The effectiveness of this paradigm implicitly relies on the assumption that task-specific knowledge is encoded solely within task vectors. We argue that this assumption generally does not hold due to the intrinsic task preferences of pre-trained models. Specifically, we identify \textbf{Load-Bearing Wall (LBW) dimensions}, namely some task-critical knowledge that remains embedded in the pre-trained weights rather than being fully transferred into task vectors. We characterize LBW dimensions from both scalar-weight and subspace perspectives, thereby covering the major paradigms of existing model merging methods. Our analysis reveals that, by ignoring LBW dimensions, task-vector-based approaches fail to fully resolve task conflicts and may inadvertently damage task-specific knowledge encoded in the pre-trained model, leading to degradation. To address this issue, we propose PACT, which preserves the anchored task-specific cores (i.e., LBW dimensions) within task vectors by aligning their orthogonal complements with the subspace of the pre-trained weights. These aligned subspace components are then removed from the task vectors before applying existing model merging algorithms. Furthermore, we develop an efficient variant based on randomized SVD to improve scalability. PACT can be seamlessly integrated with existing methods. Extensive experiments across multiple benchmarks demonstrate that PACT consistently enhances mainstream model merging approaches and establishes new state-of-the-art performance.

模型合并多任务学习知识保留

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