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BrainTransformers: SNN-LLM (arxiv.org)
2 points by PaulHoule on Nov 1, 2024 | hide | past | pdf | discuss on HN

In plain words: A 3-billion-parameter chat model runs on spiking neural networks, which fire pulses like brain cells, by rebuilding the transformer's math to work with those spikes. It scored 76.3 on grade-school math problems, close to standard models that use steady numbers instead of pulses.

Abstract

This study introduces BrainTransformers, an innovative Large Language Model (LLM) implemented using Spiking Neural Networks (SNN). Our key contributions include: (1) designing SNN-compatible Transformer components such as SNNMatmul, SNNSoftmax, and SNNSiLU; (2) implementing an SNN approximation of the SiLU activation function; and (3) developing a Synapsis module to simulate synaptic plasticity. Our 3-billion parameter model, BrainTransformers-3B-Chat, demonstrates competitive performance across various benchmarks, including MMLU (63.2), BBH (54.1), ARC-C (54.3), and GSM8K (76.3), while potentially offering improved energy efficiency and biological plausibility. The model employs a three-stage training approach, including SNN-specific neuronal synaptic plasticity training. This research opens new avenues for brain-like AI systems in natural language processing and neuromorphic computing. Future work will focus on hardware optimization, developing specialized SNN fine-tuning tools, and exploring practical applications in energy-efficient computing environments.

Zhengzheng Tang, Eva Zhu
arXiv:2410.14687 · cs.NE, cs.CL, cs.LG · submitted Oct 3, 2024 · updated Oct 23, 2024
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