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Minimum Description Length Meets Singular Learning Theory (arxiv.org)
2 points by E-Reverance 61 days ago | hide | past | pdf | discuss on HN

In plain words: They estimate a network's complexity with a learning-theory number that captures how tangled its training is, then test whether it predicts how far the network can be squeezed by compression tricks. The estimate tracked actual compressibility closely, and sometimes in a straight-line relationship.

Abstract · Compressibility Measures Complexity: Minimum Description Length Meets Singular Learning Theory

We study neural network compressibility by using singular learning theory to extend the minimum description length (MDL) principle to singular models like neural networks. Through extensive experiments on the Pythia suite with quantization, factorization, and other compression techniques, we find that complexity estimates based on the local learning coefficient (LLC) are closely, and in some cases, linearly correlated with compressibility. Our results provide a path toward rigorously evaluating the limits of model compression.

Einar Urdshals, Edmund Lau, Jesse Hoogland, Stan van Wingerden, Daniel Murfet
arXiv:2510.12077 · stat.ML, cs.LG · submitted Oct 14, 2025
abstract · pdf · html · 33 pages, 21 figures

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