Comparing the Parameter Complexity of Hypernetworks and the Embedding-Based Alternative.
Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Abstract: In the context of learning to map an input $I$ to a function $h_I:\mathcal{X}\to \mathbb{R}$, we compare two alternative methods: (i) an embedding-based method, which learns a fixed function in which $I$ is encoded as a conditioning signal $e(I)$ and the learned function takes the form $h_I(x) = q(x,e(I))$, and (ii) hypernetworks, in which the weights $\theta_I$ of the function $h_I(x) = g(x;\theta_I)$ are given by a hypernetwork $f$ as $\theta_I=f(I)$.
We extend the theory of~\cite{devore} and provide a lower bound on the complexity of neural networks as function approximators, i.e., the number of trainable parameters. This extension, eliminates the requirements for the approximation method to be robust. Our results are then used to compare the complexities of $q$ and $g$, showing that under certain conditions and when letting the functions $e$ and $f$ be as large as we wish, $g$ can be smaller than $q$ by orders of magnitude. In addition, we show that for typical assumptions on the function to be approximated, the overall number of trainable parameters in a hypernetwork is smaller by orders of magnitude than the number of trainable parameters of a standard neural network and an embedding method.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Tomer Galanti, Lior Wolf
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3013420849