functions

Definition

Mathematical mappings from inputs to outputs, and in papers they almost always arrive qualified: activation function, loss function, value function, reward function. Each names a different role in the machinery — how a unit responds, what training minimises, what an agent expects to earn. The everyday software sense of "features" is a false friend here; in a research context the word means a map, and the modifier tells you which one.

Explainers using this term

• Paper Explained: Compile by Training — Turning a Natural-Language Spec into a Function That Runs LocallyCompile by Training: Turning Natural-Language Specifications into Local Neural Functions