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Edge AI vs Federated Learning | Complete Overview

Dr. Jagreet Kaur Gill | 06 September 2024

Edge AI vs Federated Learning | Complete Overview
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Edge AI vs Federated Learning

What is Federated Learning?

Federated learning is a Machine Learning technique that involves training an algorithm through several decentralized edge devices or servers that carry local data samples without sharing them. This method differs from conventional centralized machine learning methods, which require all local datasets to be submitted to a single server. Data protection, telecommunications, IoT, and pharmaceutics are among the sectors where it's used.

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What are the benefits of Federated Learning?

Here are some primary benefits of federated machine learning:

  • FL allows devices such as smartphones to learn a shared prediction model collaboratively while maintaining the training data on the computer rather than uploading and storing it on a central server.

  • It moves model teaching to the edge, including gadgets like smartphones, laptops, IoT, and even "organizations" like hospitals that must work under stringent privacy regulations. Keeping personal data local is a significant security advantage.

  • Since prediction takes place on the system itself, real-time prediction is feasible. The time lag caused by sending raw data to a central server and then shipping the results back to the system is reduced by FL.

  • The prediction method works even though there is no internet connection because the models are stored on the device.

  • FL reduces the amount of hardware equipment available. FL versions need very little hardware, and what is available on mobile devices is more than adequate.

What are the challenges of Federated Learning?

  • Expensive Communication

    Federated networks involve numerous devices where communication is significantly slower and costlier than local computation. Efficient communication methods are needed to transmit small model updates instead of entire datasets during training.

  • Systems Heterogeneity

    Devices in federated networks vary widely in hardware, connectivity, and power, leading to inconsistencies in performance. Only a small fraction of devices are active at any time, and their unreliability increases challenges like stragglers and fault tolerance.

  • Statistical Heterogeneity

    Data generated by devices in federated networks is often non-IID, with varying distributions and amounts, complicating modeling and increasing the risk of stragglers.

  • Privacy Concerns

    Sharing model updates rather than raw data in federated learning poses privacy risks. Enhancing privacy with methods like differential privacy may reduce model performance and efficiency, creating a complex trade-off.

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What is Edge AI?

Artificial Intelligence systems have vastly advanced in recent years worldwide. Cloud computing has become an essential aspect of AI evolution as the number of business operations at work has increased. Furthermore, as consumers use their smartphones more often, companies realize the need to apply technologies to certain devices to get closer to customers and better satisfy their needs. As a result, the demand for Edge Computing will begin to expand in the future.

The future of AI is on the Edge

Edge Artificial Intelligence is a framework that processes data provided by a hardware device at a local level using Machine Learning Algorithms. To process such data and make decisions in real-time, the computer does not need to be connected to the Internet in milliseconds. As a result, the cloud model's connectivity costs are significantly reduced. Edge AI removes the privacy concerns associated with transferring and maintaining massive amounts of data in the cloud, as well as bandwidth and latency constraints that hinder data storage power.

What are the benefits of Edge AI?

The significant advantages offered by Edge AI are:

  • Improves Customer Experience by lowering prices and lag times. This makes it easier to integrate wearable devices based on the user experience, such as bracelets that monitor workout and sleep habits in real-time.

  • It raises the standard of protection for data privacy via local processing. Data is no longer transmitted in a consolidated cloud.

  • Technically, a decrease in needed bandwidth could decrease the contracted internet service's costs.

  • Data scientists and AI developers are not required to maintain edge technology computers. It is an automated technology, and the graphic data flows are delivered dynamically for monitoring.

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How does Edge AI work?

Edge AI is a modern way of doing Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence allowed by computationally more efficient edge computers.

We train a model on a suitable dataset for a particular task in a typical machine-learning scenario. Training the model entails programming it to identify trends in the training datasets. Inference takes comparatively little computing power, while training a machine learning model is a computationally costly activity well suited for the cloud. The rise of low-cost computing and data storage services, together with cloud technology, has opened up new avenues for deploying machine learning at scale. However, owing to bandwidth constraints, this comes at the expense of latency and data processing problems. If the data transmission fails, the model is worthless, so the forecasts must also be transmitted to the end device. It's easy to see how this solution will fail in mission-sensitive systems where low latency is critical. The cloud is the future of machine learning.

The Cloud Architecture for Inference

Edge AI is a modern way of machine learning and artificial intelligence allowed by computationally more efficient edge computers. Unlike in the conventional environment, where the inference is performed on a cloud computing network, Edge AI allows the model to run on the edge computer without constant connectivity to the outside world. Training a model on large datasets and then applying it to output is analogous to cloud computing.

Edge-based architecture - inference happens locally on a device.

The GDPR imposes major constraints on the training of machine learning models. Attackers see the centralized database as a lucrative target. The belief that edge computing alone will address privacy issues is incorrect.
For tackling the above problems, federated learning is a viable solution.

Federated learning is the technique for training a machine learning algorithm through many client devices without requiring direct access to the results. Only model updates are sent back to the central server.

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Federated learning Process Described

Edge computing will not completely overtake cloud computing but will operate in tandem with it. In general, cloud computing is a safer choice if the implementations are tolerant of cloud-based latencies. Edge computing is the only viable option for systems that involve real-time inference.

The Two Approaches in Comparison

Distributed large batch testing is more akin to classical training, in which the data is stored in one central place. Federated learning is difficult to deal with batches that aren't uniformly spread. For federated learning to perform well, the distribution of classes across devices must be as close as possible. The output degrades when local dataset distributions are extremely inconsistent and non-IID.

A Preliminary Empirical Comparison

Big Batch, for example, necessitates higher learning speeds because applying the same parameters across all methodologies will be ineffective. For the by-epoch analogy to make sense, we needed to maintain some consistency.

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Conclusion

Edge technologies can deliver faster, more reliable operations and more profit margins. Large companies like Amazon and Google have been spending millions on the advancement of their Edge AI solutions. Data will have to be stored in the cloud, but user-generated data will be run and processed on the Edge. The increased demand for IoT applications would facilitate the introduction of 5G networks.