DEFT extends its Core–Slack split across layers to keep transfer learning stable
TheGradient · x · 2026-07-24
Layer-to-layer routing
This installment explains how DEFT propagates the Core/Slack split across layers. Core neurons connect to Core neurons, Slack to Slack, while cross-links are severed at time step zero for the forbidden directions.
The intended effect
By preserving only the allowed routes, the method tries to keep foundational features stable while letting new learning accumulate in the plastic branch. In the thread’s framing, this is what makes the system usable for continual learning and transfer learning rather than just compression.
Related event: DEFT Introduces Core-Slack Architecture to Prevent Catastrophic Forgetting(3 posts)→
More from Research
- Kimi K3 may be strong on cyber, but token efficiency keeps it off UK AISIS — teortaxesTex · 2026-07-27
- ARC AGI 3 should have stayed private, with no examples or public dataset — flowersslop · 2026-07-27
- ExploitGym may have only 60–70% solvable tasks, fueling the OpenAI cheating debate — max_paperclips · 2026-07-27
- RTX 5090 local tests show Qwen Q6 can drop to 15 tok/s at 80k context — LFAdvice7984 · 2026-07-27
- Noahpinion quotes Chollet: intelligence may hit a hard ceiling — binarybits · 2026-07-27
- Paper argues graph topology can become the core operating system for AI agents — theomitsa · 2026-07-27