A key challenge in contrastive learning is to generate negative samples from a large sample set to contrast with positive samples, for learning better encoding of the data. These negative samples often follow a softmax distribution which are dynamically updated during the training process. However, sampling from this distribution is non-trivial due to the high computational costs in computing the partition function. In this paper, we propose an Efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo negative sampling method for Contrastive learning (EMC$^2$). We follow the global contrastive learning loss as introduced in SogCLR, and propose EMC$^2$ which utilizes an adaptive Metropolis-Hastings subroutine to generate hardness-aware negative samples in an online fashion during the optimization. We prove that EMC$^2$ finds an $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{T})$-stationary point of the global contrastive loss in $T$ iterations. Compared to prior works, EMC$^2$ is the first algorithm that exhibits global convergence (to stationarity) regardless of the choice of batch size while exhibiting low computation and memory cost. Numerical experiments validate that EMC$^2$ is effective with small batch training and achieves comparable or better performance than baseline algorithms. We report the results for pre-training image encoders on STL-10 and Imagenet-100.
Recently, tool learning with large language models (LLMs) has emerged as a promising paradigm for augmenting the capabilities of LLMs to tackle highly complex problems. Despite growing attention and rapid advancements in this field, the existing literature remains fragmented and lacks systematic organization, posing barriers to entry for newcomers. This gap motivates us to conduct a comprehensive survey of existing works on tool learning with LLMs. In this survey, we focus on reviewing existing literature from the two primary aspects (1) why tool learning is beneficial and (2) how tool learning is implemented, enabling a comprehensive understanding of tool learning with LLMs. We first explore the "why" by reviewing both the benefits of tool integration and the inherent benefits of the tool learning paradigm from six specific aspects. In terms of "how", we systematically review the literature according to a taxonomy of four key stages in the tool learning workflow: task planning, tool selection, tool calling, and response generation. Additionally, we provide a detailed summary of existing benchmarks and evaluation methods, categorizing them according to their relevance to different stages. Finally, we discuss current challenges and outline potential future directions, aiming to inspire both researchers and industrial developers to further explore this emerging and promising area.
Multimodal learning methods with targeted unimodal learning objectives have exhibited their superior efficacy in alleviating the imbalanced multimodal learning problem. However, in this paper, we identify the previously ignored gradient conflict between multimodal and unimodal learning objectives, potentially misleading the unimodal encoder optimization. To well diminish these conflicts, we observe the discrepancy between multimodal loss and unimodal loss, where both gradient magnitude and covariance of the easier-to-learn multimodal loss are smaller than the unimodal one. With this property, we analyze Pareto integration under our multimodal scenario and propose MMPareto algorithm, which could ensure a final gradient with direction that is common to all learning objectives and enhanced magnitude to improve generalization, providing innocent unimodal assistance. Finally, experiments across multiple types of modalities and frameworks with dense cross-modal interaction indicate our superior and extendable method performance. Our method is also expected to facilitate multi-task cases with a clear discrepancy in task difficulty, demonstrating its ideal scalability. The source code and dataset are available at //github.com/GeWu-Lab/MMPareto_ICML2024.
Social actors are often embedded in multiple social networks, and there is a growing interest in studying social systems from a multiplex network perspective. In this paper, we propose a mixed-effects model for cross-sectional multiplex network data that assumes dyads to be conditionally independent. Building on the uniplex $p_2$ model, we incorporate dependencies between different network layers via cross-layer dyadic effects and actor random effects. These cross-layer effects model the tendencies for ties between two actors and the ties to and from the same actor to be dependent across different relational dimensions. The model can also study the effect of actor and dyad covariates. As simulation-based goodness-of-fit analyses are common practice in applied network studies, we here propose goodness-of-fit measures for multiplex network analyses. We evaluate our choice of priors and the computational faithfulness and inferential properties of the proposed method through simulation. We illustrate the utility of the multiplex $p_2$ model in a replication study of a toxic chemical policy network. An original study that reflects on gossip as perceived by gossip senders and gossip targets, and their differences in perspectives, based on data from 34 Hungarian elementary school classes, highlights the applicability of the proposed method.
Mixture-of-Experts (MoEs) can scale up beyond traditional deep learning models by employing a routing strategy in which each input is processed by a single "expert" deep learning model. This strategy allows us to scale up the number of parameters defining the MoE while maintaining sparse activation, i.e., MoEs only load a small number of their total parameters into GPU VRAM for the forward pass depending on the input. In this paper, we provide an approximation and learning-theoretic analysis of mixtures of expert MLPs with (P)ReLU activation functions. We first prove that for every error level $\varepsilon>0$ and every Lipschitz function $f:[0,1]^n\to \mathbb{R}$, one can construct a MoMLP model (a Mixture-of-Experts comprising of (P)ReLU MLPs) which uniformly approximates $f$ to $\varepsilon$ accuracy over $[0,1]^n$, while only requiring networks of $\mathcal{O}(\varepsilon^{-1})$ parameters to be loaded in memory. Additionally, we show that MoMLPs can generalize since the entire MoMLP model has a (finite) VC dimension of $\tilde{O}(L\max\{nL,JW\})$, if there are $L$ experts and each expert has a depth and width of $J$ and $W$, respectively.
The case$^2$ study, also referred to as the case-case study design, is a valuable approach for conducting inference for treatment effects. Unlike traditional case-control studies, the case$^2$ design compares treatment in two types of cases with the same disease. A key quantity of interest is the attributable effect, which is the number of cases of disease among treated units which are caused by the treatment. Two key assumptions that are usually made for making inferences about the attributable effect in case$^2$ studies are 1.) treatment does not cause the second type of case, and 2.) the treatment does not alter an individual's case type. However, these assumptions are not realistic in many real-data applications. In this article, we present a sensitivity analysis framework to scrutinize the impact of deviations from these assumptions on obtained results. We also include sensitivity analyses related to the assumption of unmeasured confounding, recognizing the potential bias introduced by unobserved covariates. The proposed methodology is exemplified through an investigation into whether having violent behavior in the last year of life increases suicide risk via 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey dataset.
The problem of pre-training data detection for large language models (LLMs) has received growing attention due to its implications in critical issues like copyright violation and test data contamination. Despite improved performance, existing methods (including the state-of-the-art, Min-K%) are mostly developed upon simple heuristics and lack solid, reasonable foundations. In this work, we propose a novel and theoretically motivated methodology for pre-training data detection, named Min-K%++. Specifically, we present a key insight that training samples tend to be local maxima of the modeled distribution along each input dimension through maximum likelihood training, which in turn allow us to insightfully translate the problem into identification of local maxima. Then, we design our method accordingly that works under the discrete distribution modeled by LLMs, whose core idea is to determine whether the input forms a mode or has relatively high probability under the conditional categorical distribution. Empirically, the proposed method achieves new SOTA performance across multiple settings. On the WikiMIA benchmark, Min-K%++ outperforms the runner-up by 6.2% to 10.5% in detection AUROC averaged over five models. On the more challenging MIMIR benchmark, it consistently improves upon reference-free methods while performing on par with reference-based method that requires an extra reference model.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) merges retrieval methods with deep learning advancements to address the static limitations of large language models (LLMs) by enabling the dynamic integration of up-to-date external information. This methodology, focusing primarily on the text domain, provides a cost-effective solution to the generation of plausible but incorrect responses by LLMs, thereby enhancing the accuracy and reliability of their outputs through the use of real-world data. As RAG grows in complexity and incorporates multiple concepts that can influence its performance, this paper organizes the RAG paradigm into four categories: pre-retrieval, retrieval, post-retrieval, and generation, offering a detailed perspective from the retrieval viewpoint. It outlines RAG's evolution and discusses the field's progression through the analysis of significant studies. Additionally, the paper introduces evaluation methods for RAG, addressing the challenges faced and proposing future research directions. By offering an organized framework and categorization, the study aims to consolidate existing research on RAG, clarify its technological underpinnings, and highlight its potential to broaden the adaptability and applications of LLMs.
The existence of representative datasets is a prerequisite of many successful artificial intelligence and machine learning models. However, the subsequent application of these models often involves scenarios that are inadequately represented in the data used for training. The reasons for this are manifold and range from time and cost constraints to ethical considerations. As a consequence, the reliable use of these models, especially in safety-critical applications, is a huge challenge. Leveraging additional, already existing sources of knowledge is key to overcome the limitations of purely data-driven approaches, and eventually to increase the generalization capability of these models. Furthermore, predictions that conform with knowledge are crucial for making trustworthy and safe decisions even in underrepresented scenarios. This work provides an overview of existing techniques and methods in the literature that combine data-based models with existing knowledge. The identified approaches are structured according to the categories integration, extraction and conformity. Special attention is given to applications in the field of autonomous driving.
Deep learning has shown great potential for modeling the physical dynamics of complex particle systems such as fluids (in Lagrangian descriptions). Existing approaches, however, require the supervision of consecutive particle properties, including positions and velocities. In this paper, we consider a partially observable scenario known as fluid dynamics grounding, that is, inferring the state transitions and interactions within the fluid particle systems from sequential visual observations of the fluid surface. We propose a differentiable two-stage network named NeuroFluid. Our approach consists of (i) a particle-driven neural renderer, which involves fluid physical properties into the volume rendering function, and (ii) a particle transition model optimized to reduce the differences between the rendered and the observed images. NeuroFluid provides the first solution to unsupervised learning of particle-based fluid dynamics by training these two models jointly. It is shown to reasonably estimate the underlying physics of fluids with different initial shapes, viscosity, and densities. It is a potential alternative approach to understanding complex fluid mechanics, such as turbulence, that are difficult to model using traditional methods of mathematical physics.
Few sample learning (FSL) is significant and challenging in the field of machine learning. The capability of learning and generalizing from very few samples successfully is a noticeable demarcation separating artificial intelligence and human intelligence since humans can readily establish their cognition to novelty from just a single or a handful of examples whereas machine learning algorithms typically entail hundreds or thousands of supervised samples to guarantee generalization ability. Despite the long history dated back to the early 2000s and the widespread attention in recent years with booming deep learning technologies, little surveys or reviews for FSL are available until now. In this context, we extensively review 200+ papers of FSL spanning from the 2000s to 2019 and provide a timely and comprehensive survey for FSL. In this survey, we review the evolution history as well as the current progress on FSL, categorize FSL approaches into the generative model based and discriminative model based kinds in principle, and emphasize particularly on the meta learning based FSL approaches. We also summarize several recently emerging extensional topics of FSL and review the latest advances on these topics. Furthermore, we highlight the important FSL applications covering many research hotspots in computer vision, natural language processing, audio and speech, reinforcement learning and robotic, data analysis, etc. Finally, we conclude the survey with a discussion on promising trends in the hope of providing guidance and insights to follow-up researches.