""" Drift Neuron Discovery via L1-Regularized Probing =================================================== Inspired by: - Semantic Entropy Neurons (NeurIPS 2024): L1 probes find sparse neuron sets - Neuron Circuits (Arora & Wu, 2026): MLP activations are a sparse basis - Calibration paper (Radharapu et al.): Brier score loss for calibration Key idea: Train L1-regularized linear probes on MLP ACTIVATIONS (not outputs!) to find the minimal set of neurons that predict whether knowledge has drifted. If a small set of "drift neurons" exists, this validates that: 1. The model encodes temporal validity internally 2. Drift detection can be done with minimal compute 3. These neurons can potentially be steered (connecting to YaPO) Usage: python drift_neuron_discovery.py \ --model Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct \ --dataset data/knowledge_drift_dataset.json \ --output data/drift_neurons/ \ --max_samples 500 """ import argparse import json import os import logging import torch import torch.nn as nn import torch.nn.functional as F import numpy as np from tqdm import tqdm from collections import defaultdict from sklearn.model_selection import StratifiedKFold from sklearn.metrics import roc_auc_score, average_precision_score logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format='%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s') logger = logging.getLogger(__name__) # ============================================================ # MODEL LOADING WITH MLP ACTIVATION HOOKS # ============================================================ class MLPActivationExtractor: """ Extract MLP activations (pre-down-projection) from each layer. Per Arora & Wu (2026): MLP activations are a PRIVILEGED BASIS due to element-wise nonlinearity (SiLU/GeLU). Much sparser than MLP outputs or residual stream. """ def __init__(self, model): self.model = model self.activations = {} self.hooks = [] self._register_hooks() def _register_hooks(self): """Register forward hooks on MLP intermediate activations.""" for name, module in self.model.named_modules(): # For Qwen2.5: the gate/up projection output before down projection # Architecture: gate_proj -> silu -> * up_proj -> down_proj if 'mlp.gate_proj' in name or 'mlp.up_proj' in name: layer_idx = name.split('.')[2] if 'layers' in name else name.split('.')[1] hook = module.register_forward_hook( lambda mod, inp, out, n=name, l=layer_idx: self._save_activation(n, l, out) ) self.hooks.append(hook) def _save_activation(self, name, layer_idx, output): key = f"layer_{layer_idx}" if key not in self.activations: self.activations[key] = {} if 'gate' in name: self.activations[key]['gate'] = output.detach() elif 'up' in name: self.activations[key]['up'] = output.detach() def get_mlp_activations(self): """ Get the actual MLP hidden activations: SiLU(gate) * up This is the privileged basis from Arora & Wu (2026). """ result = {} for key, acts in self.activations.items(): if 'gate' in acts and 'up' in acts: # SiLU activation applied to gate, then elementwise multiply with up hidden = F.silu(acts['gate']) * acts['up'] result[key] = hidden return result def clear(self): self.activations = {} def remove_hooks(self): for h in self.hooks: h.remove() def extract_features(model, tokenizer, query, extractor, device="cuda"): """ Extract MLP activations and hidden states for a single query. Returns per-layer features at the last token position. """ prompt = f"<|im_start|>system\nAnswer concisely.<|im_end|>\n<|im_start|>user\n{query}<|im_end|>\n<|im_start|>assistant\n" inputs = tokenizer(prompt, return_tensors="pt", truncation=True, max_length=512) inputs = {k: v.to(device) for k, v in inputs.items()} extractor.clear() with torch.no_grad(): outputs = model(**inputs, output_hidden_states=True) # Get MLP activations (privileged basis) mlp_acts = extractor.get_mlp_activations() # Get hidden states (residual stream) hidden_states = outputs.hidden_states features = {} # MLP activations at last token, per layer for key, act in mlp_acts.items(): layer_idx = int(key.split('_')[1]) features[f"mlp_act_layer_{layer_idx}"] = act[0, -1, :].cpu() # [ffn_dim] # Hidden states at last token, per layer for i, h in enumerate(hidden_states): features[f"hidden_layer_{i}"] = h[0, -1, :].cpu() # [hidden_dim] return features # ============================================================ # DRIFT PROBE WITH L1 REGULARIZATION # ============================================================ class DriftProbeL1(nn.Module): """ Linear probe with L1 regularization for drift detection. Trained with Brier score loss (proper scoring rule) for calibration. L1 regularization forces sparsity, revealing "drift neurons." """ def __init__(self, input_dim): super().__init__() self.linear = nn.Linear(input_dim, 1) def forward(self, x): return torch.sigmoid(self.linear(x)) def get_nonzero_weights(self, threshold=1e-4): """Get indices of neurons with non-negligible weights.""" weights = self.linear.weight.data.abs().squeeze() nonzero = (weights > threshold).nonzero(as_tuple=True)[0] return nonzero, weights[nonzero] def brier_score_loss(pred, target): """Brier score: proper scoring rule for calibration.""" return ((pred.squeeze() - target.float()) ** 2).mean() def train_probe(features, labels, layer_key, l1_lambda=0.01, epochs=200, lr=0.001): """ Train an L1-regularized probe on a specific layer's features. Returns: trained probe, metrics, discovered neurons """ X = torch.stack(features).float() y = torch.tensor(labels).float() input_dim = X.shape[1] # 5-fold cross-validation skf = StratifiedKFold(n_splits=5, shuffle=True, random_state=42) fold_metrics = [] best_probe = None best_auroc = 0 for fold, (train_idx, val_idx) in enumerate(skf.split(X, y)): X_train, X_val = X[train_idx], X[val_idx] y_train, y_val = y[train_idx], y[val_idx] probe = DriftProbeL1(input_dim) optimizer = torch.optim.Adam(probe.parameters(), lr=lr, weight_decay=0) for epoch in range(epochs): probe.train() pred = probe(X_train) # Brier score + L1 regularization loss = brier_score_loss(pred, y_train) l1_reg = l1_lambda * probe.linear.weight.abs().sum() total_loss = loss + l1_reg optimizer.zero_grad() total_loss.backward() optimizer.step() # Evaluate probe.eval() with torch.no_grad(): val_pred = probe(X_val).squeeze().numpy() val_labels = y_val.numpy() try: auroc = roc_auc_score(val_labels, val_pred) auprc = average_precision_score(val_labels, val_pred) except ValueError: auroc, auprc = 0.5, 0.5 # Brier score (lower is better) brier = np.mean((val_pred - val_labels) ** 2) # Count non-zero neurons nonzero_idx, nonzero_weights = probe.get_nonzero_weights() n_neurons = len(nonzero_idx) fold_metrics.append({ "auroc": auroc, "auprc": auprc, "brier": brier, "n_neurons": n_neurons }) if auroc > best_auroc: best_auroc = auroc best_probe = probe avg_metrics = { "auroc": np.mean([m["auroc"] for m in fold_metrics]), "auroc_std": np.std([m["auroc"] for m in fold_metrics]), "auprc": np.mean([m["auprc"] for m in fold_metrics]), "brier": np.mean([m["brier"] for m in fold_metrics]), "n_neurons": np.mean([m["n_neurons"] for m in fold_metrics]), } # Get drift neurons from best probe nonzero_idx, nonzero_weights = best_probe.get_nonzero_weights() sorted_order = nonzero_weights.argsort(descending=True) drift_neurons = [ {"neuron_idx": nonzero_idx[i].item(), "weight": nonzero_weights[i].item()} for i in sorted_order[:50] # Top 50 by weight magnitude ] return best_probe, avg_metrics, drift_neurons # ============================================================ # MAIN ANALYSIS # ============================================================ def run_full_analysis(model, tokenizer, samples, output_dir, device="cuda", max_samples=None): os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True) if max_samples: drifted = [s for s in samples if s.get("is_drifted_query")] not_drifted = [s for s in samples if not s.get("is_drifted_query") and s.get("temporal_zone") == "post_cutoff"] import random; random.seed(42) n_d = min(len(drifted), max_samples // 2) n_nd = min(len(not_drifted), max_samples - n_d) samples = random.sample(drifted, n_d) + random.sample(not_drifted, n_nd) logger.info(f"Sampled {n_d} drifted + {n_nd} non-drifted = {len(samples)} total") extractor = MLPActivationExtractor(model) # === STEP 1: Extract features === logger.info("Extracting MLP activations and hidden states...") all_features = defaultdict(list) all_labels = [] for sample in tqdm(samples, desc="Extracting features"): try: features = extract_features(model, tokenizer, sample["query"], extractor, device) for key, feat in features.items(): all_features[key].append(feat) all_labels.append(1 if sample.get("is_drifted_query") else 0) except Exception as e: logger.error(f"Error extracting: {e}") n_drifted = sum(all_labels) n_total = len(all_labels) logger.info(f"Extracted features: {n_total} samples ({n_drifted} drifted, {n_total-n_drifted} non-drifted)") # === STEP 2: Train probes per layer === logger.info("Training L1-regularized drift probes...") layer_results = {} # Try different L1 strengths l1_values = [0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1] for layer_key in sorted(all_features.keys()): if not all_features[layer_key]: continue best_l1_result = None best_auroc = 0 for l1 in l1_values: probe, metrics, neurons = train_probe( all_features[layer_key], all_labels, layer_key, l1_lambda=l1 ) if metrics["auroc"] > best_auroc: best_auroc = metrics["auroc"] best_l1_result = { "layer": layer_key, "l1_lambda": l1, "metrics": metrics, "drift_neurons": neurons, } if best_l1_result: layer_results[layer_key] = best_l1_result # === STEP 3: Find best layers and neurons === print("\n" + "=" * 90) print(" DRIFT NEURON DISCOVERY RESULTS") print("=" * 90) # Sort by AUROC sorted_layers = sorted(layer_results.items(), key=lambda x: x[1]["metrics"]["auroc"], reverse=True) print(f"\n{'Layer':<30} {'AUROC':>8} {'AUPRC':>8} {'Brier':>8} {'#Neurons':>10} {'L1':>8}") print("-" * 80) for layer_key, result in sorted_layers[:20]: m = result["metrics"] print(f"{layer_key:<30} {m['auroc']:>8.4f} {m['auprc']:>8.4f} {m['brier']:>8.4f} " f"{m['n_neurons']:>10.1f} {result['l1_lambda']:>8.3f}") # Best layer if sorted_layers: best_layer, best_result = sorted_layers[0] print(f"\n 🏆 BEST LAYER: {best_layer}") print(f" AUROC: {best_result['metrics']['auroc']:.4f} ± {best_result['metrics']['auroc_std']:.4f}") print(f" Active neurons: {best_result['metrics']['n_neurons']:.0f}") print(f" Top drift neurons:") for n in best_result["drift_neurons"][:10]: print(f" Neuron {n['neuron_idx']:>6d}: weight = {n['weight']:.4f}") # === STEP 4: MLP activations vs hidden states comparison === print("\n\n === MLP ACTIVATIONS vs HIDDEN STATES ===") mlp_layers = [(k, v) for k, v in sorted_layers if "mlp_act" in k] hidden_layers = [(k, v) for k, v in sorted_layers if "hidden" in k] if mlp_layers and hidden_layers: best_mlp = mlp_layers[0][1]["metrics"]["auroc"] best_hidden = hidden_layers[0][1]["metrics"]["auroc"] print(f" Best MLP activation probe: AUROC = {best_mlp:.4f} ({mlp_layers[0][0]})") print(f" Best hidden state probe: AUROC = {best_hidden:.4f} ({hidden_layers[0][0]})") if best_mlp > best_hidden: print(f" ✅ MLP activations are MORE informative (consistent with Arora & Wu 2026)") else: print(f" ℹ️ Hidden states are more informative for this task") # === SAVE RESULTS === save_results = {} for k, v in layer_results.items(): save_results[k] = { "l1_lambda": v["l1_lambda"], "metrics": v["metrics"], "drift_neurons": v["drift_neurons"], } with open(os.path.join(output_dir, "drift_neuron_results.json"), 'w') as f: json.dump(save_results, f, indent=2) # Save the layer ranking ranking = [{"layer": k, **v["metrics"], "l1": v["l1_lambda"]} for k, v in sorted_layers] with open(os.path.join(output_dir, "layer_ranking.json"), 'w') as f: json.dump(ranking, f, indent=2) logger.info(f"Results saved to {output_dir}") return layer_results def main(): parser = argparse.ArgumentParser() parser.add_argument("--model", default="Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct") parser.add_argument("--dataset", default="data/knowledge_drift_dataset.json") parser.add_argument("--output", default="data/drift_neurons/") parser.add_argument("--max_samples", type=int, default=None) parser.add_argument("--device", default="auto") parser.add_argument("--post_cutoff_only", action="store_true") args = parser.parse_args() from transformers import AutoModelForCausalLM, AutoTokenizer logger.info(f"Loading model: {args.model}") tokenizer = AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained(args.model, trust_remote_code=True) if tokenizer.pad_token is None: tokenizer.pad_token = tokenizer.eos_token model = AutoModelForCausalLM.from_pretrained( args.model, torch_dtype=torch.float16, device_map=args.device, trust_remote_code=True, ) model.eval() with open(args.dataset, 'r') as f: dataset = json.load(f) samples = dataset["samples"] if args.post_cutoff_only: samples = [s for s in samples if s.get("temporal_zone") == "post_cutoff"] device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu" run_full_analysis(model, tokenizer, samples, args.output, device, args.max_samples) if __name__ == "__main__": main()