StreamPrompt: Learnable Prompt-guided Data Selection for Efficient Stream Learning

Stream Learning (SL) requires models to rapidly adapt to continuous data streams, setting it apart from traditional Continual Learning (CL). Recent SL methods emphasize efficiency by selecting data subsets for training, but they often struggle due to their reliance on static, rule-based selection algorithms that cannot effectively adapt to the changing importance of data. In this work, we introduce StreamPrompt, a method that enhances data selection through dynamic, learnable prompts. These dynamic prompts serve two purposes beyond guiding model inference: 1) optimizing data selection, and 2) guiding updates to the rehearsal buffer. This approach addresses the challenges of adaptability and computational efficiency in processing continuous data streams. Moreover, StreamPrompt introduces Prompt Attunement,a mechanism that enhances the efficiency of prompt learning. By leveraging attention layers from vision transformers and softly combining their outputs with a gate unit, Prompt Attunementrefines prompts with minimal computational resources. Comprehensive evaluations demonstrate StreamPrompts superior performance over state-of-the-art, with significant improvements in accuracy and reductions in training time. These results underscore the efficacy and efficiency of StreamPrompt, establishing its potential as a scalable and effective solution for the evolving demands of SL. Our code is available at https://github.com/intellistream/Efficient-Stream-Learning.

Online Continual Knowledge Learning for Language Models

Large Language Models (LLMs) serve as repositories of extensive world knowledge, enabling them to perform tasks such as question-answering and fact-checking. However, this knowledge can become obsolete as global contexts change. In this paper, we introduce a novel problem in the realm of continual learning: Online Continual Knowledge Learning (OCKL). This problem formulation aims to manage the dynamic nature of world knowledge in LMs under real-time constraints. We propose a new benchmark and evaluation metric designed to measure both the rate of new knowledge acquisition and the retention of previously learned knowledge. Our empirical evaluation, conducted using a variety of state-of-the-art methods, establishes robust base-lines for OCKL. Our results reveal that existing continual learning approaches are unfortunately insufficient for tackling the unique challenges posed by OCKL. We identify key factors that influence the trade-off between knowledge acquisition and retention, thereby advancing our understanding of how to train LMs in a continually evolving environment.