Avoiding Catastrophic Forgetting in Visual Classification Using Human Concept Formation

Deep neural networks have excelled in machine learning, particularly in vision tasks, however, they often suffer from catastrophic forgetting when learning new tasks sequentially. In this work, we propose Cobweb4V, a novel visual classification approach that builds on Cobweb, a human like learning system that is inspired by the way humans incrementally learn new concepts over time. In this research, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation, showcasing the proficiency of Cobweb4V in learning visual concepts, requiring less data to achieve effective learning outcomes compared to traditional methods, maintaining stable performance over time, and achieving commendable asymptotic behavior, without catastrophic forgetting effects. These characteristics align with learning strategies in human cognition, positioning Cobweb4V as a promising alternative to neural network approaches.