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Idée - Machine Learning - # Robust Decoder-Only Text-to-Speech

Attention-Constrained Inference: Enhancing Robustness in Decoder-Only Text-to-Speech Models


Concepts de base
Attention-Constrained Inference (ACI) is a training-free method that enhances the robustness of decoder-only text-to-speech models by identifying and constraining attention maps responsible for alignment, without altering the model structure or retraining.
Résumé

The paper introduces Attention-Constrained Inference (ACI), a training-free method to improve the robustness of decoder-only text-to-speech (TTS) models.

Key insights:

  • The authors observe that certain attention heads in the decoder-only TTS model VALL-E exhibit diagonal patterns in their attention maps, indicating alignment between speech and text. They call these Alignment-Emerged Attention Maps (AEAMs).
  • The authors propose the Attention Sweeping algorithm to identify AEAMs among all attention maps in the model.
  • Based on the identified AEAMs, the authors introduce attention constraining strategies that apply constraining masks (CMasks) on the AEAMs during inference to guide the model towards monotonic synthesis.
  • Experiments on VALL-E models of various configurations show that ACI can reduce the word error rate (WER) of synthesized speech by up to 20.5% relatively, while maintaining comparable naturalness and speaker similarity.

The key steps are:

  1. Identify AEAMs using the Attention Sweeping algorithm.
  2. Apply constraining masks (CMasks) on the AEAMs during inference to guide the model towards monotonic synthesis.
  3. Evaluate the impact of ACI on robustness (WER) and synthesis quality (naturalness, speaker similarity).
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Stats
The word error rate (WER) of synthesized speech is reduced by up to 20.5% relatively with ACI on VALL-E models of various configurations. The naturalness (measured by Predicted-MOS) and speaker similarity (measured by SECS) of the synthesized speech are comparable to the baseline without ACI.
Citations
"We discover that among the massive self-attention modules in the whole decoder, some particular heads in a particular early layer are responsible for emerging alignments in their attention maps (i.e., AEAMs)." "We propose a training-free method, Attention-Constrained Inference (ACI), which seamlessly works on top of existing decoder-only TTS models, to detect AEAMs of a model and apply CMasks on AEAMs at the inference stage to guide the alignment to be monotonic and realize robust synthesis."

Questions plus approfondies

How can the insights from ACI be extended to other sequence-to-sequence tasks beyond text-to-speech, such as machine translation or language modeling

The insights gained from Attention-Constrained Inference (ACI) in the context of decoder-only text-to-speech models can be extended to other sequence-to-sequence tasks like machine translation or language modeling by leveraging similar principles of alignment constraints. In machine translation, for instance, ensuring a proper alignment between source and target sequences is crucial for accurate translation. By identifying Alignment-Emerged Attention Maps (AEAMs) in the decoder's self-attention mechanism and applying constraining masks based on these alignments, one can guide the model to generate translations in a more monotonic and accurate manner. This approach can help mitigate issues like word skipping, repeating, or misalignment, similar to those encountered in text-to-speech tasks. Furthermore, in language modeling, maintaining coherence and fluency in generated text is essential. By adapting the ACI methodology to language modeling tasks, one could potentially improve the model's ability to generate text that follows a logical flow and maintains proper context. By identifying internal representations related to alignment within the model and applying constraints during inference, it is possible to enhance the robustness and quality of generated sequences in various sequence-to-sequence tasks beyond text-to-speech.

Can the attention constraining strategies be further improved or combined with other techniques to enhance the robustness of decoder-only models

The attention constraining strategies introduced in ACI can be further improved and combined with other techniques to enhance the robustness of decoder-only models in several ways: Dynamic Masking: Instead of using fixed-radius masks, dynamic masking techniques could be employed to adaptively adjust the mask size based on the attention distribution. This dynamic approach can help the model focus more precisely on relevant parts of the input sequence, improving alignment and reducing errors. Multi-Head Attention Fusion: Combining information from multiple attention heads can provide a more comprehensive view of the alignment patterns within the model. By fusing information from different heads before applying constraining masks, the model can benefit from a more holistic understanding of the alignment structure. Feedback Mechanisms: Introducing feedback mechanisms that incorporate information from previous decoding steps can help the model refine its alignment and generate more coherent sequences. By feeding back alignment information from earlier steps, the model can course-correct and improve the overall synthesis quality. Adversarial Training: Incorporating adversarial training techniques to the attention constraining process can help the model learn to generate more robust and aligned sequences. By introducing adversarial constraints during training, the model can become more resilient to alignment errors and improve its overall performance. By combining these approaches with the existing attention constraining strategies, decoder-only models can achieve higher levels of robustness and accuracy in sequence generation tasks.

What other internal representations, beyond attention maps, could be leveraged to improve the robustness of decoder-only models in a training-free manner

Beyond attention maps, other internal representations that could be leveraged to improve the robustness of decoder-only models in a training-free manner include: Hidden States: The hidden states of the decoder contain valuable information about the model's internal representations and decision-making processes. By analyzing and manipulating these hidden states during inference, one can potentially guide the model towards more accurate and aligned sequence generation. Token Embeddings: The embeddings of input tokens carry semantic information that influences the model's generation process. By monitoring and adjusting token embeddings based on alignment constraints, one can steer the model towards producing more coherent and accurate sequences. Loss Landscape Analysis: Studying the loss landscape of the model during inference can provide insights into areas of high error or misalignment. By dynamically adjusting the model's parameters based on the loss landscape, one can optimize the generation process and improve robustness. Temporal Dependencies: Considering temporal dependencies between tokens in the sequence can help the model maintain coherence and alignment. By incorporating mechanisms to enforce temporal consistency during generation, such as autoregressive constraints or temporal attention mechanisms, the model can improve its robustness without additional training. By exploring and leveraging these internal representations in conjunction with attention maps, decoder-only models can enhance their robustness and performance in various sequence-to-sequence tasks.
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