Jonathan Frankle, Chief Scientist at Databricks, discusses the realities and usefulness of AI, including face recognition systems, the 'lottery ticket hypothesis,' and robust decision-making protocols for training models. They also explore Jonathan's move into law, his experience with GPUs, and the revolutionary algorithm called Qstar.
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Quick takeaways
Proper policy measures should be implemented to ensure the responsible use and safeguard against misuse of facial recognition systems.
Empirical validation and reproducibility are crucial in AI research to avoid blind belief in sensational claims.
Consolidating knowledge and focusing on squeezing the potential of existing AI technologies can have a significant impact in advancing the field.
Deep dives
Law enforcement's use of facial recognition revealed in study
The podcast episode discusses a study conducted by a team of researchers from Georgetown Law's Center for Privacy and Technology, including the speaker Jonathan Frankl. The study investigated the use of facial recognition technology by state and local law enforcement agencies in the US. It revealed concerning findings, such as the availability of driver's license databases and other biometric information for police use. The researchers emphasized the need for policy measures to ensure proper use and safeguard against misuse of facial recognition systems. This study sheds light on the potential risks and implications of widespread adoption of such technology.
The hype and challenges of AI research
The discussion delves into the hype and challenges surrounding AI research. The speaker highlights the tendency for the field to get caught up in hype and the need for empirical validation of research findings. He cautions against blindly believing in sensational claims and emphasizes the importance of reproducibility and validation at scale. The speaker also reflects on the importance of respectful and constructive engagement within the scientific community, rather than engaging in takedowns or publicly dismantling papers. The focus is on advancing knowledge and supporting the careers of junior scientists.
The lottery ticket hypothesis and democratizing AI research
The speaker shares his journey of researching the 'lottery ticket hypothesis,' which explores the efficient training of neural networks. He highlights the significance of his findings back in 2018 but cautions against overhyping research breakthroughs. The speaker stresses the need to consolidate knowledge and focus on squeezing the potential of existing AI technologies. He introduces the work of Mosaic ML in democratizing AI research, aiming to reduce the cost of training models and provide accessible resources for academia. The focus is on empowering researchers to conduct impactful studies and contribute to the field of AI.
The Genesis Story of Mosaic: Making Training More Efficient
The podcast episode discusses the Genesis story of Mosaic, an AI training platform. The CEO of Mosaic, Jose Ignavian Rao, reached out to the speaker after reading one of their papers and convinced them to start a startup. Mosaic aims to make training more efficient and affordable, especially for those who don't have access to high-end GPUs. The platform offers a comprehensive solution that addresses hardware issues, optimization challenges, and hyperparameters, providing users with a reliable and cost-effective way to train models.
Pushing the Frontier and Incorporating Expertise into the Product
The podcast explores how the speaker's team at Mosaic pushes the frontier of knowledge and incorporates their expertise into the product. They conduct extensive scientific research to find the best and cheapest ways to train state-of-the-art models. Rather than directly consulting clients, they build their expertise into the platform, offering users the best practices and latest advancements. Additionally, they thoroughly test and vet every technical decision, ensuring that the recommended approaches and architectures have been rigorously evaluated. By doing so, Mosaic provides users with a reliable and efficient platform for training models.
Jonathan Frankle works as Chief Scientist (Neural Networks) at MosaicML (recently acquired by Databricks), a startup dedicated to making it easy and cost-effective for anyone to train large-scale, state-of-the-art neural networks. He leads the research team.
MLOps podcast #205 with Jonathan Frankle, Chief Scientist (Neural Networks) at Databricks, The Myth of AI Breakthroughs, co-hosted by Denny Lee, brought to us by our Premium Brand Partner, Databricks.
// Abstract
Jonathan takes us behind the scenes of the rigorous work they undertake to test new knowledge in AI and to create effective and efficient model training tools. With a knack for cutting through the hype, Jonathan focuses on the realities and usefulness of AI and its application. We delve into issues such as face recognition systems, the 'lottery ticket hypothesis,' and robust decision-making protocols for training models. Our discussion extends into Jonathan's interesting move into the world of law as an adjunct professor, the need for healthy scientific discourse, his experience with GPUs, and the amusing claim of a revolutionary algorithm called Qstar.
// Bio
Jonathan Frankle is Chief Scientist (Neural Networks) at Databricks, where he leads the research team toward the goal of developing more efficient algorithms for training neural networks. He arrived via Databricks’ $1.3B acquisition of MosaicML as part of the founding team. He recently completed his PhD at MIT, where he empirically studied deep learning with Prof. Michael Carbin, specifically the properties of sparse networks that allow them to train effectively (his "Lottery Ticket Hypothesis" - ICLR 2019 Best Paper). In addition to his technical work, he is actively involved in policymaking around challenges related to machine learning. He earned his BSE and MSE in computer science at Princeton and has previously spent time at Google Brain and Facebook AI Research as an intern and Georgetown Law as an Adjunct Professor of Law.
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// Related Links
Website: www.jfrankle.com
Facial recognition: perpetuallineup.orgThe Lottery Ticket Hypothesis: Finding Sparse, Trainable Neural Networksby Jonathan Frankle and Michael Carbin paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.03635
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Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jfrankle/
Timestamps:
[00:00] Jonathan's preferred coffee
[01:16] Takeaways
[07:19] LM Avalanche Panel Surprise
[10:07] Adjunct Professor of Law
[12:59] Low facial recognition accuracy
[14:22] Automated decision making human in the loop argument
[16:09] Control vs. Outsourcing Concerns
[18:02] perpetuallineup.org
[23:41] Face Recognition Challenges
[26:18] The lottery ticket hypothesis
[29:20] Mosaic Role: Model Expertise
[31:40] Expertise Integration in Training
[38:19] SLURM opinions
[41:30] GPU Affinity
[45:04] Breakthroughs with QStar
[49:52] Deciphering the noise advice
[53:07] Real Conversations
[55:47] How to cut through the noise
[1:00:12] Research Iterations and Timelines
[1:02:30] User Interests, Model Limits
[1:06:18] Debugability
[1:08:00] Wrap up
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