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Equation 13 · The Hardest Unsolved Problems in Small and On-Device AI

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θi∗\theta_i^{*}

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the old optimum for parameter i and λ\lambda sets how strongly the old task is protected. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.

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θi∗\theta_i^{*}

Symbol theta_i^*

the old optimum for parameter i and λ\lambda sets how strongly the old task is protected.

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subscript

subscript

The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.

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superscript

superscript

A raised number can be a power. When it is a label or bound, it selects a case or the upper limit of a sum; the formula’s structure distinguishes these uses.

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What the article says around this equation

where θi∗\theta_i^{*} is the old optimum for parameter i and λ\lambda sets how strongly the old task is protected. This equation exposes the actual trade rather than resolving it: raising λ\lambda protects old knowledge at the direct expense of how much the new update is allowed to change the model, and there is no value of λ\lambda that removes the trade — only one that relocates it. It also exposes a cost specific to on-device deployment: computing and storing FiF_i for every parameter, and doing so repeatedly as the device keeps learning, is itself memory and compute that a phone-class budget has to find room for, on top of whatever the update itself costs.

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