I am currently trying to train a model using tf.GradientTape, as model.fit(...) from keras will not be able to handle my data input in the future. However, while a test run with model.fit(...) and my model works perfectly, tf.GradientTape does not.
During training, the loss using the tf.GradientTape custom workflow will first slightly decrease, but then become stuck and not improve any further, no matter how many epochs I run. The chosen metric will also not change after the first few batches. Additionally, the loss per batch is unstable and jumps between nearly zero to something very large. The running loss is more stable but shows the model not improving.
This is all in contrast to using model.fit(...), where loss and metrics are improving immediately.
My code:
def build_model(kernel_regularizer=l2(0.0001), dropout=0.001, recurrent_dropout=0.):
x1 = Input(62)
x2 = Input((62, 3))
x = Embedding(30, 100, mask_zero=True)(x1)
x = Concatenate()([x, x2])
x = Bidirectional(LSTM(500,
return_sequences=True,
kernel_regularizer=kernel_regularizer,
dropout=dropout,
recurrent_dropout=recurrent_dropout))(x)
x = Bidirectional(LSTM(500,
return_sequences=False,
kernel_regularizer=kernel_regularizer,
dropout=dropout,
recurrent_dropout=recurrent_dropout))(x)
x = Activation('softmax')(x)
x = Dense(1000)(x)
x = Dense(500)(x)
x = Dense(250)(x)
x = Dense(1, bias_initializer='ones')(x)
x = tf.math.abs(x)
return Model(inputs=[x1, x2], outputs=x)
optimizer = Adam(learning_rate=0.0001)
model = build_model()
model.compile(optimizer=optimizer, loss='mse', metrics='mse')
options = tf.data.Options()
options.experimental_distribute.auto_shard_policy = AutoShardPolicy.DATA
dat_train = tf.data.Dataset.from_generator(
generator= lambda: <load_function()>
output_types=((tf.int32, tf.float32), tf.float32)
)
dat_train = dat_train.with_options(options)
# keras training
model.fit(dat_train, epochs=50)
# custom training
for epoch in range(50):
for (x1, x2), y in dat_train:
with tf.GradientTape() as tape:
y_pred = model((x1, x2), training=True)
loss = model.loss(y, y_pred)
grads = tape.gradient(loss, model.trainable_variables)
model.optimizer.apply_gradients(zip(grads, model.trainable_variables))
I could use relu at the output layer, however, I found the abs to be more robust. Changing it does not change the outcome. The input x1 of the model is a sequence, x2 are some additional features, that are later concatenated to the embedded x1 sequence. For my approach, I'm not using the MSE, but it works either way.
I could provide some data, however, my dataset is quite large, so I would need to extract a bit out of it.
All in all, my problem seems to be similar to: Keras model doesn't train when using GradientTape
Edit 1
The softmax activation is currently not necessary, but is relevant for my future goal of splitting the model. Additionally, some things I noticed:
- The custom training takes roughly 2x the amount of time compared to
model.fit(...). - The gradients in the custom training seem very small and range from ±1e-3 to ±1e-9 inside the model. I don't know if that's normal and don't know how to compare it to the gradients provided by
model.fit(...).
Edit 2
I've added a Google Colab notebook to reproduce the issue:
https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1pk66rbiux5vHZcav9VNSBhdWWIhQM-nF?usp=sharing
The loss and MSE for 20 epochs is shown here:
While I only used a portion of my data in the notebook, it will still run for a very long time. For the custom training run, the loss for each batch is simply stored in losses. It matches the behavior in the custom training run image. So far, I've noticed two ways of improving the performance of the custom training:
- The usage of custom layer initialization
- Using MSE as a loss function
Using the MSE, compared to my own loss function actually improves the custom training performance. Still, using MSE and/or different initialization won't come close to the performance of keras fit.
