Learning Shared Knowledge for Deep Lifelong Learning Using Deconvolutional Networks

Abstract

Current mechanisms for knowledge transfer in deep networks tend to either share the lower layers between tasks, or build upon representations trained on other tasks. However, existing work in non-deep multi-task and lifelong learning has shown success with using factorized representations of the model parameter space for transfer, permitting more flexible construction of task models. Inspired by this idea, we introduce a novel architecture for sharing latent factorized representations in convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The proposed approach, called a deconvolutional factorized CNN, uses a combination of deconvolutional factorization and tensor contraction to perform flexible transfer between tasks. Experiments on two computer vision data sets show that the DF-CNN achieves superior performance in challenging lifelong learning settings, resists catastrophic forgetting, and exhibits reverse transfer to improve previously learned tasks from subsequent experience without retraining.