Neural Networks Are Already Clean

(already-clean.goodfire.com)

50 points | by themgt 1 hour ago

4 comments

  • bob1029 19 minutes ago
    I think certain classes of artificial neural networks are definitely more interpretable than others.

    For example, a trillion-parameter transformer model built using many layers is likely significantly easier to read than one that only has a few million parameters but was constructed using neuroevolution over one gigantic layer.

    The degree to which a model can be quantized without losing its performance also likely contributes to interpretability. The redundancy can help humans lock onto patterns. If there is no redundancy at all (everything is a surprise in information theoretical terms), then the stream of parameters will look indistinguishable from cosmic background radiation.

  • augment_me 4 minutes ago
    65 minute read with plots for days all in order to change the semantic definition of "superposition" to "gating"
  • Imnimo 8 minutes ago
    Feels like I'm back in the distill.pub days!
  • phyzome 33 minutes ago
    16,000 words into the essay: "What I mean by clean"

    ...and it still doesn't answer it. What is this actually about?

    • lucrbvi 32 minutes ago
      It means that modern neural networks are way more interpretable than older ones. We can understand how they work way more easily than earlier ones.
    • wmf 17 minutes ago
      I think "clean" means something like each neuron encodes exactly one concept and it's possible to discover what the concept is.
      • ky3 14 minutes ago
        Doesn't "orthogonal" convey that meaning more crisply and precisely?