CodNN -- Robust Neural Networks From Coded Classification

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are a revolutionary force in the ongoing information revolution, and yet their intrinsic properties remain a mystery. In particular, it is widely known that DNNs are highly sensitive to noise, whether adversarial or random. This poses a fundamental challenge for hardware implementations of DNNs, and for their deployment in critical applications such as autonomous driving. In this paper we construct robust DNNs via error correcting codes. By our approach, either the data or internal layers of the DNN are coded with error correcting codes, and successful computation under noise is guaranteed. Since DNNs can be seen as a layered concatenation of classification tasks, our research begins with the core task of classifying noisy coded inputs, and progresses towards robust DNNs. We focus on binary data and linear codes. Our main result is that the prevalent parity code can guarantee robustness for a large family of DNNs, which includes the recently popularized binarized neural networks. Further, we show that the coded classification problem has a deep connection to Fourier analysis of Boolean functions. In contrast to existing solutions in the literature, our results do not rely on altering the training process of the DNN, and provide mathematically rigorous guarantees rather than experimental evidence.Comment: To appear in ISIT '2

CodNN – Robust Neural Networks From Coded Classification

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are a revolutionary force in the ongoing information revolution, and yet their intrinsic properties remain a mystery. In particular, it is widely known that DNNs are highly sensitive to noise, whether adversarial or random. This poses a fundamental challenge for hardware implementations of DNNs, and for their deployment in critical applications such as autonomous driving.In this paper we construct robust DNNs via error correcting codes. By our approach, either the data or internal layers of the DNN are coded with error correcting codes, and successful computation under noise is guaranteed. Since DNNs can be seen as a layered concatenation of classification tasks, our research begins with the core task of classifying noisy coded inputs, and progresses towards robust DNNs.We focus on binary data and linear codes. Our main result is that the prevalent parity code can guarantee robustness for a large family of DNNs, which includes the recently popularized binarized neural networks. Further, we show that the coded classification problem has a deep connection to Fourier analysis of Boolean functions.In contrast to existing solutions in the literature, our results do not rely on altering the training process of the DNN, and provide mathematically rigorous guarantees rather than experimental evidence

When Machine Learning Meets Information Theory: Some Practical Applications to Data Storage

Machine learning and information theory are closely inter-related areas. In this dissertation, we explore topics in their intersection with some practical applications to data storage. Firstly, we explore how machine learning techniques can be used to improve data reliability in non-volatile memories (NVMs). NVMs, such as flash memories, store large volumes of data. However, as devices scale down towards small feature sizes, they suffer from various kinds of noise and disturbances, thus significantly reducing their reliability. This dissertation explores machine learning techniques to design decoders that make use of natural redundancy (NR) in data for error correction. By NR, we mean redundancy inherent in data, which is not added artificially for error correction. This work studies two different schemes for NR-based error-correcting decoders. In the first scheme, the NR-based decoding algorithm is aware of the data representation scheme (e.g., compression, mapping of symbols to bits, meta-data, etc.), and uses that information for error correction. In the second scenario, the NR-decoder is oblivious of the representation scheme and uses deep neural networks (DNNs) to recognize the file type as well as perform soft decoding on it based on NR. In both cases, these NR-based decoders can be combined with traditional error correction codes (ECCs) to substantially improve their performance. Secondly, we use concepts from ECCs for designing robust DNNs in hardware. Non-volatile memory devices like memristors and phase-change memories are used to store the weights of hardware implemented DNNs. Errors and faults in these devices (e.g., random noise, stuck-at faults, cell-level drifting etc.) might degrade the performance of such DNNs in hardware. We use concepts from analog error-correcting codes to protect the weights of noisy neural networks and to design robust neural networks in hardware. To summarize, this dissertation explores two important directions in the intersection of information theory and machine learning. We explore how machine learning techniques can be useful in improving the performance of ECCs. Conversely, we show how information-theoretic concepts can be used to design robust neural networks in hardware

Emulate Randomized Clinical Trials Using Heterogeneous Treatment Effect Estimation for Personalized Treatments: Methodology Review and Benchmark

Big data and (deep) machine learning have been ambitious tools in digital medicine, but these tools focus mainly on association. Intervention in medicine is about the causal effects. The average treatment effect has long been studied as a measure of causal effect, assuming that all populations have the same effect size. However, no one-size-fits-all treatment seems to work in some complex diseases. Treatment effects may vary by patient. Estimating heterogeneous treatment effects (HTE) may have a high impact on developing personalized treatment. Lots of advanced machine learning models for estimating HTE have emerged in recent years, but there has been limited translational research into the real-world healthcare domain. To fill the gap, we reviewed and compared eleven recent HTE estimation methodologies, including meta-learner, representation learning models, and tree-based models. We performed a comprehensive benchmark experiment based on nationwide healthcare claim data with application to Alzheimer\u27s disease drug repurposing. We provided some challenges and opportunities in HTE estimation analysis in the healthcare domain to close the gap between innovative HTE models and deployment to real-world healthcare problems

Inferring Personalized Treatment Effect of Antihypertensives on Alzheimer\u27s Disease Using Deep Learning

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, especially among the elderly. Recent studies have shown how hypertension is related to cognitive decline in elderly patients, which in turn leads to increased mortality as well as morbidity. There have been various studies that have looked at the effect of antihypertensive drugs in reducing cognitive decline, and their results have proved inconclusive. However, most of these studies assume the treatment effect is similar for all patients, thus considering only the average treatment effects of antihypertensive drugs. In this paper, we assume that the effect of antihypertensives on the onset of AD depends on patient characteristics. We develop a deep learning method called LASSO-Dragonnet to estimate the individualized treatment effects of each patient. We considered six antihypertensive drugs, and each of the six models considered one of the drugs as the treatment and the remaining as control. Our studies showed that although many antihypertensives have a positive impact in delaying AD onset on average, the impact varies from individual to individual, depending on their various characteristics. We also analyzed the importance of various covariates in such an estimation. Our results showed that the individualized treatment effects of each patient could be estimated accurately using a deep learning method, and that the importance of various covariates could be determined

CodNN – Robust Neural Networks From Coded Classification

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are a revolutionary force in the ongoing information revolution, and yet their intrinsic properties remain a mystery. In particular, it is widely known that DNNs are highly sensitive to noise, whether adversarial or random. This poses a fundamental challenge for hardware implementations of DNNs, and for their deployment in critical applications such as autonomous driving.In this paper we construct robust DNNs via error correcting codes. By our approach, either the data or internal layers of the DNN are coded with error correcting codes, and successful computation under noise is guaranteed. Since DNNs can be seen as a layered concatenation of classification tasks, our research begins with the core task of classifying noisy coded inputs, and progresses towards robust DNNs.We focus on binary data and linear codes. Our main result is that the prevalent parity code can guarantee robustness for a large family of DNNs, which includes the recently popularized binarized neural networks. Further, we show that the coded classification problem has a deep connection to Fourier analysis of Boolean functions.In contrast to existing solutions in the literature, our results do not rely on altering the training process of the DNN, and provide mathematically rigorous guarantees rather than experimental evidence

CodNN - Robust Neural Networks From Coded Classification

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are a revolutionary force in the ongoing information revolution, and yet their intrinsic properties remain a mystery. In particular, it is widely known that DNNs are highly sensitive to noise, whether adversarial or random. This poses a fundamental challenge for hardware implementations of DNNs, and for their deployment in critical applications such as autonomous driving. In this paper we construct robust DNNs via error correcting codes. By our approach, either the data or internal layers of the DNN are coded with error correcting codes, and successful computation under noise is guaranteed. Since DNNs can be seen as a layered concatenation of classification tasks, our research begins with the core task of classifying noisy coded inputs, and progresses towards robust DNNs. We focus on binary data and linear codes. Our main result is that the prevalent parity code can guarantee robustness for a large family of DNNs, which includes the recently popularized binarized neural networks. Further, we show that the coded classification problem has a deep connection to Fourier analysis of Boolean functions. In contrast to existing solutions in the literature, our results do not rely on altering the training process of the DNN, and provide mathematically rigorous guarantees rather than experimental evidence