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What does it mean to understand a neural network? (arxiv.org)
1 point by che_shr_cat on Jul 30, 2019 | hide | past | pdf | discuss on HN

In plain words: A neural network can be written in under 100 lines of code, yet after training its millions of weights are nearly impossible to read. Brains may work the same way, so studying how they learn and grow could be easier than mapping their wiring.

Abstract

We can define a neural network that can learn to recognize objects in less than 100 lines of code. However, after training, it is characterized by millions of weights that contain the knowledge about many object types across visual scenes. Such networks are thus dramatically easier to understand in terms of the code that makes them than the resulting properties, such as tuning or connections. In analogy, we conjecture that rules for development and learning in brains may be far easier to understand than their resulting properties. The analogy suggests that neuroscience would benefit from a focus on learning and development.

Timothy P. Lillicrap, Konrad P. Kording
arXiv:1907.06374 · cs.LG, q-bio.NC, stat.ML · submitted Jul 15, 2019
abstract · pdf · html · 9 pages, 2 figures

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