arXiv · 2601.11618
Architecture Before the Formula: Individuating Neural Architecture Beyond the Composite Map
Abstract
Neural architecture is often identified by module syntax, computation graphs, or the composite functions they realize. These descriptions answer different identity questions. We study the represented process available at a receiver: an actual factorization $B_j=G_jQ_j$ in which $Q_j(x)$ is the intermediate state supplied for further computation. Forgetting the presentation and retaining only $\ker Q_j$ yields the predecessor distinctions preserved at that cut. For a fixed branch, this extensional shadow exactly classifies unmarked surjective factorizations up to unique carrier re-presentation, but it does not determine marked receiver organization or the accessibility of retained information to restricted continuations. Under composition the relevant interface is $Q_{j,\theta}A$, so downstream architectural distinctions depend on the states produced upstream. An exact two-token construction shows that local and attention schemas are distinction-equivalent after one injective prefix and inequivalent after another, even though neither prefix loses predecessor information. The result exposes a context dependence hidden by modular architecture labels and motivates architecture comparison at the represented-process level.
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Luis F. Rosario Freytes. 2026-01-10. Architecture Before the Formula: Individuating Neural Architecture Beyond the Composite Map. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11618
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