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Transformers for Supervised Online Continual Learning (2403.01554v1)

Published 3 Mar 2024 in cs.LG

Abstract: Transformers have become the dominant architecture for sequence modeling tasks such as natural language processing or audio processing, and they are now even considered for tasks that are not naturally sequential such as image classification. Their ability to attend to and to process a set of tokens as context enables them to develop in-context few-shot learning abilities. However, their potential for online continual learning remains relatively unexplored. In online continual learning, a model must adapt to a non-stationary stream of data, minimizing the cumulative nextstep prediction loss. We focus on the supervised online continual learning setting, where we learn a predictor $x_t \rightarrow y_t$ for a sequence of examples $(x_t, y_t)$. Inspired by the in-context learning capabilities of transformers and their connection to meta-learning, we propose a method that leverages these strengths for online continual learning. Our approach explicitly conditions a transformer on recent observations, while at the same time online training it with stochastic gradient descent, following the procedure introduced with Transformer-XL. We incorporate replay to maintain the benefits of multi-epoch training while adhering to the sequential protocol. We hypothesize that this combination enables fast adaptation through in-context learning and sustained longterm improvement via parametric learning. Our method demonstrates significant improvements over previous state-of-the-art results on CLOC, a challenging large-scale real-world benchmark for image geo-localization.

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Authors (3)
  1. Jorg Bornschein (22 papers)
  2. Yazhe Li (17 papers)
  3. Amal Rannen-Triki (9 papers)
Citations (1)
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Summary

Enhancing Online Continual Learning with Transformers

Introduction to Online Continual Learning

The concept of Online Continual Learning (OCL) refers to the task where models are trained on a continual stream of data. This training methodology enables models to adapt to new information while retaining previously learned knowledge. The intrinsic challenge lies in addressing the non-stationary nature of data streams, making the minimization of cumulative next-step prediction loss a primary focus. The paper explores the use of transformer architecture, renowned for its success in sequence modeling tasks, to address the complexities of OCL in a supervised setting. By integrating the in-context learning prowess of transformers with online training methodologies, the paper proposes a novel approach aimed at achieving high performance in OCL tasks.

Architectural Insights and Methodology

The proposed model leverages a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of transformer models with online stochastic gradient descent (SGD), drawing inspiration from the Transformer-XL framework. This method incorporates replay mechanisms, allowing for the engagement with recent observations while adhering to a sequential protocol. This dual strategy is hypothesized to facilitate rapid adaptation through in-context learning and ensure sustained improvements via parametric learning. Two distinct transformer architectures were evaluated:

  1. 2-Token Approach: This configuration utilizes a causal transformer to process sequences by treating examples as consecutive tokens, focusing the training on predicting the output tokens without considering the input token loss.
  2. Privileged Information (Pi) Transformer: Enhancing the basic transformer architecture, this variant introduces the concept of providing additional privileged information to each input token. It ensures that predictions at a given time step do not directly access the corresponding target label but can leverage all preceding labels, fostering a separation between in-context learning and the parametric adaptation process.

The experiments conducted utilize ConvNets, ResNets, and Vision Transformers as feature extractors, though a comprehensive search for the optimal feature extractor was not the focus of this paper. The primary evaluation metric was predictive performance on the CLOC benchmark, a large-scale real-world dataset for image geo-localization.

Empirical Evaluation and Results

A significant portion of the research concentrated on empirical evaluation, with the primary assessment conducted on the CLOC benchmark—a challenging context for OCL due to its extensive scale and real-world applicability. The paper’s findings showcase substantial improvements over previous state-of-the-art results, emphasizing the efficacy of the proposed transformer-based models in handling the intricacies of online continual learning.

The experimentation also includes synthetic task-agnostic sequences, enabling an in-depth analysis of the model's meta-learning-like behavior. These experiments underscore the transformer's ability to evolve into an efficient few-shot learner, rapidly adapting to new tasks encountered in the sequence.

Future Directions and Theoretical Implications

This exploration into transformers for OCL opens avenues for further research, especially around the integration of transformer models with online learning paradigms. The synergistic relationship between in-context learning and parametric adaptation proposes a promising pathway to tackling the challenges inherent in online continual learning settings. Speculation into future developments suggests the potential for optimized combinations of feature extractors and transformer models, scaling to broader datasets and tasks within the field of OCL.

Moreover, the paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of transformer architectures in non-stationary data environments, aligning with the overarching goal to enhance model adaptability and learning efficiency in continually evolving data streams.

Concluding Remarks

In summary, the paper presents a novel approach to supervised online continual learning, employing transformer models coupled with strategic replay mechanisms. The proposed methodology demonstrates significant advancements in predictive performance, particularly on the challenging CLOC benchmark. This research not only extends the applicability of transformers to the domain of OCL but also sets the stage for future explorations aimed at harmonizing dynamic data adaptation with sustained learning capabilities in AI systems.

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