arXiv:2606.29119cs.CLcs.AI2026-06

提前判断进化外循环是否值得做,避免浪费大量计算资源。

Knowing in Advance When an Evolutionary Outer Loop Will Not Help: A Pre-Registered Cheap-Baseline Screening Rule

  • 通过计算恢复率R=s/G,预判外循环是否优于单次静态计算。
  • 实验显示在两例中R≈1.0,外循环被放弃,节省400+ GPU小时。
  • 适合需要高效筛选算法方案的研究者,尤其关注成本控制。

我们提出一种预注册的筛选规则,在构建任何进化/种群/生命周期外循环前,判断其是否值得投入。这类外循环的开销是梯度内循环的10^2-10^3倍,但通常只有在投入后才能发现其是否优于廉价的单次计算方案。该规则在阶段0计算一个数值:恢复率R = s/G,即最优单次梯度/曲率统计量收益s与任意廉价方法最佳收益G之比,当R ≥ 90%时建议跳过外循环。我们在实验室内部一系列预注册的外循环实验中验证了该规则(两例分析加一个公开文件柜数据):在两例中,静态或单次计算已捕捉项目自身指标效果,门控触发(两例R≈1.0;一例严格指标下R≈0.95),外循环被放弃,其中一例的因子分解进一步表明所谓提升实际来自静态基线变化,进化生命周期无显著贡献。在一项目中,门控耗时约50-70 GPU小时,筛除估计400+ GPU小时(仅第一阶段)及数周开发时间,实现6-8倍效率提升。该规则具有前瞻性可证伪性:若存在R < 90%却仍无法超越单次计算的任务,则规则将被推翻。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

We introduce a pre-registered screening rule that decides, before any implementation, whether an evolutionary / population / lifecycle outer loop over neural-network parameters or structure is worth building. Such outer loops cost 10^2-10^3x their gradient inner loop, yet whether they beat a cheap single-shot alternative is usually discovered only after the expense is paid. Our rule computes, at a Phase-0 gate, a single number: the recovery R = s/G, the best single-shot gradient/curvature statistic's gain s divided by the best gain G of any cheap method evaluated, and prescribes skipping the outer loop when R >= 90%. We validate the rule on a within-lab series of pre-registered outer-loop bets (two analyzed cases plus a disclosed file drawer): in both analyzed cases a static or single-shot computation captured the effect on the project's own metric, the gate fired (R approximately 1.0 in both cases; approximately 0.95 under a stricter metric on one), and the outer loop was abandoned, including one case where a companion factorial decomposition localizes the apparent win to a static substrate change with the evolutionary lifecycle contributing no detectable gain. On one project the gate cost about 50-70 GPU-hours and screened out an estimated 400+ GPU-hours (first cell only) plus weeks of implementation, a 6-8x saving. The rule is prospectively falsifiable: a task with R < 90% where the outer loop still fails to beat single-shot would refute it.

算法筛选成本优化机器学习

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