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You Need to Pay Better Attention: Rethinking the Mathematics of Attention Mechanism (2403.01643v2)

Published 3 Mar 2024 in cs.LG, cs.AI, cs.CL, and cs.CV

Abstract: Scaled Dot Product Attention (SDPA) is the backbone of many modern deep-learning models. It is so versatile that it has been used in natural language, vision, and multi-modal domains with very little change compared to its original formulation. This paper discusses why the current formulation is inefficient by delving into the mathematical details of the attention mechanism. We propose three improvements to mitigate these inefficiencies, thereby, introducing three enhanced attention mechanisms: Optimised, Efficient, and Super Attention. Optimised and Efficient Attention have one and two matrix multiplications fewer per head, respectively, and 25% and 50% fewer parameters, respectively, than standard SDPA, but perform similarly to standard SDPA in both vision and natural language tasks. They can be used in all applications where SDPA is used while offering smaller model sizes and faster training and inference without noticeable loss in performance. Super Attention introduces a new linear transformation on the values, transforming them from the left. It outperforms standard SPDA on vision and natural language tasks by up to 17% while having one fewer matrix multiplication per head and 25% fewer parameters than standard SDPA. Consequently, it is also faster than standard SDPA. Super Attention is ideal in applications where the attention layer's context length is fixed, such as Vision Transformers. In addition to providing mathematical reasoning, we evaluate the presented attention mechanisms on several datasets including MNIST, CIFAR100, ImageNet, IMDB Movie Reviews, and Amazon Reviews datasets, as well as combined Europarl and Anki English-Spanish datasets for neural machine translation.

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Revisiting Attention Mechanisms: Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Limelight

Introduction

The quest for efficiency without sacrificing performance in Transformer models has led to a novel exploration of attention mechanisms. With the increasing size of LLMs and their deployment challenges, particularly in terms of environmental impact and computational demands, researchers have sought to optimize these models for better performance and broader deployability. This paper introduces three distinct attention mechanisms—Optimised Attention, Efficient Attention, and Super Attention. Each proposes a unique approach to reducing computational costs and model sizes while either preserving or enhancing model capabilities. This breakthrough is poised to significantly impact both the theory and application of attention mechanisms in AI models.

Optimised Attention: Compact Yet Competent

Optimised Attention achieves similar performance levels to standard attention with fewer resources. It elegantly bypasses one matrix multiplication per head, effectively diminishing the attention layer’s size by a quarter. This reduction in complexity does not compromise its learning capabilities, thanks to its ingenious design. By proving mathematically and validating through empirical evaluation, Optimised Attention emerges as a lean yet equally proficient alternative to standard multi-head attention.

Efficient Attention: Maximizing Efficiency

Efficient Attention takes a leap forward in efficiency. It stands out by slashing the attention layer’s size in half and reducing its computational demand by two matrix multiplications per head. Its design principle rests on merging two consecutive linear transformations and challenging the necessity of Multi-Head Attention (MHA) for achieving high learning capabilities. Despite its trimmed-down size, it maintains competitive performance metrics, showcasing speed improvements of up to twice that of standard attention without compromising on loss and accuracy.

Super Attention: Surpassing Standards

Super Attention unveils a remarkable advancement in enhancing both efficiency and performance of attention mechanisms. It reduces the attention layer’s size by approximately one-fourth and cuts down computational requirements by utilizing a novel, learnable alignment kernel. This adjustment not only improves efficiency but also significantly boosts performance across various tasks, outperforming standard attention mechanisms by a notable margin. Such improvements underscore Super Attention’s potential to set new benchmarks in creating high-performance, computationally efficient AI models.

Empirical Validation

The claims presented are thoroughly examined through rigorous testing across a suite of datasets including MNIST, CIFAR100, IMDB Movie Reviews, and Amazon Reviews. The evaluation underscores the efficiency and efficacy of the proposed attention mechanisms, with Super Attention consistently leading in performance metrics. Furthermore, analysis on an edge computing device reveals that the Efficient and Super Attention models offer substantial inference speedups, making them well-suited for deployment in resource-constrained environments.

Future Directions and Implications

This examination of the attention mechanism not only challenges the prevailing "bigger is better" paradigm but also opens up new avenues for research and application. The presented mechanisms promote the rethinking of attention within Transformer models, advocating for a balance between model size, computational demand, performance, and deployability. The advancements suggest promising potential for the deployment of more capable and environmentally conscious AI models across a broader range of devices and applications. As the AI field continues to evolve, the efficiency and capability enhancements introduced by these new attention mechanisms will undoubtedly influence future directions in both model architecture design and application scopes.

Conclusion

The paper’s contribution to the field of AI, specifically in refining and enhancing attention mechanisms within Transformer models, is both significant and timely. Addressing the critical challenges of computational efficiency and model performance, the proposed Optimised, Efficient, and Super Attention mechanisms represent a pivotal shift towards more sustainable and potent AI models. These developments not only propel the understanding and application of attention mechanisms forward but also align with the broader objectives of creating more accessible, efficient, and effective AI systems. As we move forward, the insights and methodologies introduced here are likely to have a lasting impact on the development of AI architectures and their application across varied domains.

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Authors (2)
  1. Mehran Hosseini (10 papers)
  2. Peyman Hosseini (4 papers)
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