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Deep Exploration of Epoch-wise Double Descent in Noisy Data: Signal Separation, Large Activation, and Benign Overfitting
Kubo, Tomoki, Uda, Ryuken, Iida, Yusuke
Deep double descent is one of the key phenomena underlying the generalization capability of deep learning models. In this study, epoch-wise double descent, which is delayed generalization following overfitting, was empirically investigated by focusing on the evolution of internal structures. Fully connected neural networks of three different sizes were trained on the CIFAR-10 dataset with 30% label noise. By decomposing the loss curves into signal contributions from clean and noisy training data, the epoch-wise evolutions of internal signals were analyzed separately. Three main findings were obtained from this analysis. First, the model achieved strong re-generalization on test data even after perfectly fitting noisy training data during the double descent phase, corresponding to a "benign overfitting" state. Second, noisy data were learned after clean data, and as learning progressed, their corresponding internal activations became increasingly separated in outer layers; this enabled the model to overfit only noisy data. Third, a single, very large activation emerged in the shallow layer across all models; this phenomenon is referred as "outliers," "massive activations," and "super activations" in recent large language models and evolves with re-generalization. These empirical findings directly link the recent key phenomena of "deep double descent," "benign over-fitting," and "large activation", and support the proposal of a novel scenario for understanding deep double descent. Artificial intelligence technologies have undergone remarkable development in recent years, introducing substantial transformation to social structures and influencing various academic fields. Although these models form the core of such technologies, the fundamental principles underlying their high generalization capability when trained on real-world data remain poorly understood. Recent numerical experiments have empirically revealed various intriguing phenomena related to this gap.
The Fight on Capitol Hill to Make It Easier to Fix Your Car
As vehicles grow more software-dependent, repairing them has become harder than ever. A bill in the US House called the Repair Act would ease those restrictions, but it comes with caveats. Every time you get behind the wheel, your car is collecting data about you. Where you go, how fast you're driving, how hard you brake, and even how much you weigh. All of that data is not typically available to the vehicle owner.
Trump says Microsoft will pay more for its datacenters' electricity
A Microsoft data center in Aldie, Virginia, on 28 October 2025. A Microsoft data center in Aldie, Virginia, on 28 October 2025. Trump says Microsoft will pay more for its datacenters' electricity Microsoft's president said firm won't accept tax breaks in towns for its datacenters as backlash against facilities grow Tue 13 Jan 2026 17.09 ESTLast modified on Tue 13 Jan 2026 17.16 EST Donald Trump said he is partnering with tech companies to ensure the large energy-hungry datacenters vital for AI do not drive up electricity bills in the US. On Tuesday, the US president announced that Microsoft was "first up". "We are the'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and Number One in AI. Data Centers are key to that boom, and keeping Americans FREE and SECURE but, the big Technology Companies who build them must'pay their own way.'"
Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini Last week, Roblox made its verification check mandatory for anyone using chat. Roblox's age-verification system was designed as a response to allegations it has a child predator problem . Well, reported on Tuesday that, in some cases, it's classifying children as adults and adults as children. Last week, Roblox made age verification mandatory for anyone using the platform's chat feature. That process involves either submitting a facial age estimate via selfie or (optionally for anyone 13 or older) uploading a government ID check.
Senate passes Defiance Act for a second time to address Grok deepfakes
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini The bill allows the victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes to sue the people who create and host them. The Senate has passed the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act with unanimous consent, according to the bill's co-sponsor Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) . The bill lets the subjects of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes take civil action against the people who create and host them. Deepfakes are a known issue online, but without the proper protections, easy access to AI-powered image and video generation tools has made it possible for anyone to create compromising content using another person's likeness. This has become a particular problem on X, where the integration of Grok, the AI assistant created by X's parent company xAI, makes it possible for anyone to turn the content of another person's post into an image-generating prompt.
Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany
Archaeologists say they located a Black Death burial site containing some of a village's 12,000 dead. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The Black Death () killed as much as half of Europe's total population between 1346 and 1353, so there are a of bodies buried across the continent. For example, contemporary accounts from Thuringia--a state in central Germany--report that about 12,000 plague victims died around Erfurt amid the city's outbreak in 1350. But despite multiple accounts attesting to this devastation, none of the 11 mass graves could be pinpointed for centuries.
Meta has closed three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts
Apple's Siri AI will be powered by Gemini The company has axed Armature, Sanzaru and Twisted Pixel; Supernatural won't be getting any new content. Several of Meta's VR studios have been affected by the company's metaverse-focused layoffs. The company has shuttered three of its VR studios, including Armature, Sanzaru and Twisted Pixel. VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer be updated with fresh content. Employees at Twisted Pixel, which released in November, and Sanzaru, known for, posted on social media about the closures .