43,192 research outputs found
Practical recommendations for gradient-based training of deep architectures
Learning algorithms related to artificial neural networks and in particular
for Deep Learning may seem to involve many bells and whistles, called
hyper-parameters. This chapter is meant as a practical guide with
recommendations for some of the most commonly used hyper-parameters, in
particular in the context of learning algorithms based on back-propagated
gradient and gradient-based optimization. It also discusses how to deal with
the fact that more interesting results can be obtained when allowing one to
adjust many hyper-parameters. Overall, it describes elements of the practice
used to successfully and efficiently train and debug large-scale and often deep
multi-layer neural networks. It closes with open questions about the training
difficulties observed with deeper architectures
A machine learning framework for data driven acceleration of computations of differential equations
We propose a machine learning framework to accelerate numerical computations
of time-dependent ODEs and PDEs. Our method is based on recasting
(generalizations of) existing numerical methods as artificial neural networks,
with a set of trainable parameters. These parameters are determined in an
offline training process by (approximately) minimizing suitable (possibly
non-convex) loss functions by (stochastic) gradient descent methods. The
proposed algorithm is designed to be always consistent with the underlying
differential equation. Numerical experiments involving both linear and
non-linear ODE and PDE model problems demonstrate a significant gain in
computational efficiency over standard numerical methods
Stochastic Training of Neural Networks via Successive Convex Approximations
This paper proposes a new family of algorithms for training neural networks
(NNs). These are based on recent developments in the field of non-convex
optimization, going under the general name of successive convex approximation
(SCA) techniques. The basic idea is to iteratively replace the original
(non-convex, highly dimensional) learning problem with a sequence of (strongly
convex) approximations, which are both accurate and simple to optimize.
Differently from similar ideas (e.g., quasi-Newton algorithms), the
approximations can be constructed using only first-order information of the
neural network function, in a stochastic fashion, while exploiting the overall
structure of the learning problem for a faster convergence. We discuss several
use cases, based on different choices for the loss function (e.g., squared loss
and cross-entropy loss), and for the regularization of the NN's weights. We
experiment on several medium-sized benchmark problems, and on a large-scale
dataset involving simulated physical data. The results show how the algorithm
outperforms state-of-the-art techniques, providing faster convergence to a
better minimum. Additionally, we show how the algorithm can be easily
parallelized over multiple computational units without hindering its
performance. In particular, each computational unit can optimize a tailored
surrogate function defined on a randomly assigned subset of the input
variables, whose dimension can be selected depending entirely on the available
computational power.Comment: Preprint submitted to IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and
Learning System
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