E39: Seeing is Believing with MIT’s Ziming Liu

Ziming Liu is a Physics PhD student at MIT and IAIFI, advised by Prof. Max Tegmark. Ziming’s research is at the intersection of AI and physics. Today’s discussion goes in-depth on Liu’s paper “Seeing is Believing” where he presents Brain-Inspired Modular Training (BIMT), a method for making neural networks more modular and interpretable. The ability to see modules visually can complement current mechanistic interpretability strategies.

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

RECOMMENDED PODCAST: The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord. https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics

The Cognitive Revolution is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: Turpentine.co

Watch this episode on YouTube to see research figures and graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKxwlxb2XWw

Links: Seeing is Believing, authors: Ziming Liu, Eric Gan, and Max Tegmark https://arxiv.org/pdf/2305.08746.pdf Ziming Liu: https://kindxiaoming.github.io/

TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode preview (01:16) Nathan introduces Ziming Liu and his research (04:50) What motivated Ziming's research into neural networks and modularity (08:06) Key Visuals of "Seeing is Believing" (08:44) Biology analogy & paper overview (15:07) Sponsor: Omneky (26:08) Research precedents (30:00) Locality vs modularity (37:40) Shoutout Tiny Stories : Episode 33 (39:00) Quantization Model of Neuro Scaling. (1:00:00) How can this work impact mechanistic interpretability strategies (1:27:00) Training (1:46:30) Downscaling large-scale models

TWITTER: @labenz (Nathan) @ZimingLiu11 (Ziming) @cogrev_podcast

SPONSORS: Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of ALL eCommerce in the US. And Shopify's the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries.From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/cognitive

Thank you Omneky (www.omneky.com) for sponsoring The Cognitive Revolution. Omneky is an omnichannel creative generation platform that lets you launch hundreds of thousands of ad iterations that actually work, customized across all platforms, with a click of a button. Omneky combines generative AI and real-time advertising data. Mention "Cog Rev" for 10% off.

This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.

MUSIC CREDIT: MusicLM