Project description
Advancing machine learning with collaborative models
As machine learning models grow more complex, their training becomes increasingly resource-heavy. Coupled with the ever-evolving nature of real-world data, models must continually adapt, often requiring a full retraining on new datasets. This approach drives up CO2 emissions, energy use, and consolidates progress within large industry players. With this in mind, the ERC-funded CollectiveMinds project will establish a collaborative network of specialised models that learn from one another, reducing the need for complete retraining. By decentralising knowledge and allowing independent updates, it promises more sustainable AI development. With applications in healthcare and scientific research, CollectiveMinds seeks to democratise machine learning, promoting cooperation and sustainability in an evolving world.
Objective
Machine learning models are growing larger and more complex, making training increasingly resource-demanding. Concurrently, our world, and hence the training data is perpetually evolving. This requires continual model updating or retraining to address changing training data. Presently, the most reliable course to handle such distribution shifts is to retrain models from scratch on new training data. This results in substantial resource usage, increased CO2 footprint, elevated energy consumption, and limits the decisive ML progress to large-scale industry players.
Imagine a world in which models help each other learn. When the data distribution changes, a complete retraining of models could be avoided if the new model could learn from the outdated one by using reliable and provably effective methods. Furthermore, the convention of relying on large, versatile monolithic models could then give way to a consortium of smaller specialized models, with each contributing its specific domain knowledge when needed. By encouraging this form of decentralization, we could reduce resource consumption as the individual components can be updated independently of each other.
Drawing on groundbreaking research in distributed ML model training, CollectiveMinds aspires to design adaptable ML models. These models can effectively manage updates in training data and task modifications, while also enabling efficient knowledge exchange across various models, thereby fostering widescale collaborative learning and constructing a sustainable framework for collaborative machine intelligence.
This initiative could revolutionize sectors like healthcare, where there is limited training data, and trustworthy AI that demands guarantees on data ownership and control. Furthermore, it could foster improved collaborative research within the realm of science. CollectiveMinds embodies a significant paradigm shift towards democratizing ML, focusing on cooperative intellectual efforts.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
66123 SAARBRUCKEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.