SATBench: Benchmarking the speed-accuracy tradeoff in object recognition by humans and dynamic neural networks

Authors: Ajay Subramanian, Sara Price, Omkar Kumbhar, Elena Sizikova, Najib J. Majaj, Denis G. Pelli

19 pages, 12 figures. Under Review at NeurIPS Datasets and Benchmarks Track 2022

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The ability to recognize objects is a crucial aspect of everyday tasks such as reading and driving. However, attempts to model this skill have been limited by the challenge of incorporating time into the process. Humans exhibit a flexible tradeoff between speed and accuracy when recognizing objects, which is an essential skill that has yet to be fully understood. Deep neural networks have shown promise in predicting peak human object recognition performance and neural activity, but their inability to model the temporal dimension, specifically the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT), limits their usefulness as computational models for how humans recognize objects. To address this limitation, a team of researchers led by Ajay Subramanian from New York University has presented SATBench, the first large-scale dataset of the SAT in recognizing ImageNet images. The dataset includes 148 observers and four dynamic neural networks across eight tasks. In each human trial, a beep indicating the desired reaction time sounds at a fixed delay after an image is presented, and an observer's response counts only if it occurs near the time of the beep. The team tested many beep latencies or reaction times and observed that human accuracy increases with reaction time. The researchers compared human behavior with several dynamic neural networks capable of inference-time adaptive computation using FLOPs as an analog for reaction time. They compared networks with humans on curve-fit error, category-wise correlation, and curve steepness and concluded that cascaded dynamic neural networks are promising models of human reaction time in object recognition tasks. Overall, SATBench provides valuable insights into how humans recognize objects through their flexible tradeoff between speed and accuracy. The dataset also offers new opportunities for developing more accurate computational models that incorporate both spatial and temporal dimensions in object recognition tasks.
AI-generated keywords: Object Recognition Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff SATBench Neural Networks Human Behavior

AI-generated Key Points

  • Object recognition is crucial for everyday tasks like reading and driving
  • Modeling this skill has been limited by the challenge of incorporating time into the process
  • Humans exhibit a tradeoff between speed and accuracy in recognizing objects that is not fully understood
  • Deep neural networks have shown promise but their inability to model the speed-accuracy tradeoff limits their usefulness as computational models for human object recognition
  • SATBench is the first large-scale dataset of the speed-accuracy tradeoff in recognizing ImageNet images, including 148 observers and four dynamic neural networks across eight tasks
  • Human accuracy increases with reaction time, as observed through testing many beep latencies or reaction times
  • Cascaded dynamic neural networks are promising models of human reaction time in object recognition tasks
  • SATBench provides valuable insights into how humans recognize objects through their flexible tradeoff between speed and accuracy
  • The dataset offers new opportunities for developing more accurate computational models that incorporate both spatial and temporal dimensions in object recognition tasks.
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Abstract: The core of everyday tasks like reading and driving is active object recognition. Attempts to model such tasks are currently stymied by the inability to incorporate time. People show a flexible tradeoff between speed and accuracy and this tradeoff is a crucial human skill. Deep neural networks have emerged as promising candidates for predicting peak human object recognition performance and neural activity. However, modeling the temporal dimension i.e., the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT), is essential for them to serve as useful computational models for how humans recognize objects. To this end, we here present the first large-scale (148 observers, 4 neural networks, 8 tasks) dataset of the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) in recognizing ImageNet images. In each human trial, a beep, indicating the desired reaction time, sounds at a fixed delay after the image is presented, and observer's response counts only if it occurs near the time of the beep. In a series of blocks, we test many beep latencies, i.e., reaction times. We observe that human accuracy increases with reaction time and proceed to compare its characteristics with the behavior of several dynamic neural networks that are capable of inference-time adaptive computation. Using FLOPs as an analog for reaction time, we compare networks with humans on curve-fit error, category-wise correlation, and curve steepness, and conclude that cascaded dynamic neural networks are a promising model of human reaction time in object recognition tasks.

Submitted to arXiv on 16 Jun. 2022

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