I’d guess that the same structural properties that would make a network start out in the scarce channel regime by default would also make unintended channels rare. If the internal structure is such that very little information gets passed on unless you invest optimisation to make it otherwise, that same property should mean free rides are not common.
More central point, I’m a bit doubtful that this potential correspondence is all that important for understanding information transfer inside neural networks. Extant (A)GIs seem to have very few interface points with the environment. Every node in an NN input layer is often part of one access point, since they’re situated right next to each other in the causal graph. In transformers and MLPs, the NN can route any two inputs together just by changing two parameters. The only other access point is the output. CNNs are the only prominent exception to this I can think of. Neuro knowledgable people correct me, but I was under the impression that brains also have very sparse nerves connecting them to the rest of the nervous system compared to their total connection count.
I’d guess that the same structural properties that would make a network start out in the scarce channel regime by default would also make unintended channels rare. If the internal structure is such that very little information gets passed on unless you invest optimisation to make it otherwise, that same property should mean free rides are not common.
More central point, I’m a bit doubtful that this potential correspondence is all that important for understanding information transfer inside neural networks. Extant (A)GIs seem to have very few interface points with the environment. Every node in an NN input layer is often part of one access point, since they’re situated right next to each other in the causal graph. In transformers and MLPs, the NN can route any two inputs together just by changing two parameters. The only other access point is the output. CNNs are the only prominent exception to this I can think of. Neuro knowledgable people correct me, but I was under the impression that brains also have very sparse nerves connecting them to the rest of the nervous system compared to their total connection count.