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Dilution (neural networks)

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Dilution (neural networks)

Dropout and dilution (also called DropConnect) are regularization techniques for reducing overfitting in artificial neural networks by preventing complex co-adaptations on training data. They are an efficient way of performing model averaging with neural networks. Dilution refers to randomly decreasing weights towards zero, while dropout refers to randomly setting the outputs of hidden neurons to zero. Both are usually performed during the training process of a neural network, not during inference.

Dilution is usually split in weak dilution and strong dilution. Weak dilution describes the process in which the finite fraction of removed connections is small, and strong dilution refers to when this fraction is large. There is no clear distinction on where the limit between strong and weak dilution is, and often the distinction is dependent on the precedent of a specific use-case and has implications for how to solve for exact solutions.

Sometimes dilution is used for adding damping noise to the inputs. In that case, weak dilution refers to adding a small amount of damping noise, while strong dilution refers to adding a greater amount of damping noise. Both can be rewritten as variants of weight dilution.

These techniques are also sometimes referred to as random pruning of weights, but this is usually a non-recurring one-way operation. The network is pruned, and then kept if it is an improvement over the previous model. Dilution and dropout both refer to an iterative process. The pruning of weights typically does not imply that the network continues learning, while in dilution/dropout, the network continues to learn after the technique is applied.

Output from a layer of linear nodes, in an artificial neural net can be described as

This can be written in vector notation as

Equations (1) and (2) are used in the subsequent sections.

During weak dilution, the finite fraction of removed connections (the weights) is small, giving rise to a tiny uncertainty. This edge-case can be solved exactly with mean field theory. In weak dilution the impact on the weights can be described as

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