Deep Generative Dual Memory Network for Continual Learning

TL;DR

This paper introduces a dual memory neural network inspired by human memory systems, using generative replay to prevent catastrophic forgetting in continual learning scenarios.

Contribution

It proposes a novel dual memory architecture with generative replay, inspired by human brain systems, to improve continual learning performance.

Findings

Enhanced retention of previous tasks in low-capacity models

Generative replay effectively mitigates catastrophic forgetting

Memory consolidation improves learning efficiency

Abstract

Despite advances in deep learning, neural networks can only learn multiple tasks when trained on them jointly. When tasks arrive sequentially, they lose performance on previously learnt tasks. This phenomenon called catastrophic forgetting is a fundamental challenge to overcome before neural networks can learn continually from incoming data. In this work, we derive inspiration from human memory to develop an architecture capable of learning continuously from sequentially incoming tasks, while averting catastrophic forgetting. Specifically, our contributions are: (i) a dual memory architecture emulating the complementary learning systems (hippocampus and the neocortex) in the human brain, (ii) memory consolidation via generative replay of past experiences, (iii) demonstrating advantages of generative replay and dual memories via experiments, and (iv) improved performance retention on challenging tasks even for low capacity models. Our architecture displays many characteristics of the mammalian memory and provides insights on the connection between sleep and learning.