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This question is commonly asked for Machine Learning Engineer candidates at TikTok during technical interviews.

Implement attention and nucleus sampling; compare to top-k

Quick Overview

This question evaluates implementation and theoretical understanding of Transformer components—multi-head scaled dot-product attention and nucleus (top-p) sampling—testing competencies in tensor shaping, masking, numerical stability, attention mechanics, and probabilistic sampling within the Machine Learning / Deep Learning domain.

Implement Multi‑Head Attention and Nucleus (Top‑p) Sampling

Context

You are building core components used in Transformer-based language models. Implement multi-head attention (MHA) from scratch and nucleus (top-p) sampling. Assume a deep learning framework (e.g., PyTorch) is available. Clearly handle shapes, masking, and numerical stability.

Tasks

Multi‑Head Attention Implementation

Inputs:
- Query Q, Key K, Value V: tensors of shape (batch_size, seq_len, d_model)
- Number of heads h (assume d_model % h == 0)
- Optional attention mask (broadcastable to attention scores shape)
Requirements:
- Linear projections to head dimensions d_k = d_v = d_model / h
- Scaled dot‑product attention with softmax
- Support masking (e.g., padding or causal masks)
- Apply dropout to attention weights
- Concatenate heads and apply a final output projection
- Output shape: (batch_size, seq_len, d_model)

Follow‑up A: Why is the dot‑product attention scaled by sqrt(d_k)?

Nucleus (Top‑p) Sampling Implementation

Inputs:
- Logits over a vocabulary (shape (vocab_size,) or (batch_size, vocab_size))
- Threshold p in (0, 1]
Requirements:
- Convert logits to probabilities
- Select the smallest set of tokens whose cumulative probability ≥ p
- Renormalize the selected probabilities
- Sample the next token from this set

Follow‑up B: What are the advantages and disadvantages of top‑p sampling compared with top‑k sampling?

Quick Overview

Tasks

Multi‑Head Attention Implementation

Inputs:

Query Q, Key K, Value V: tensors of shape (batch_size, seq_len, d_model)
Number of heads h (assume d_model % h == 0)
Optional attention mask (broadcastable to attention scores shape)

Requirements:

Linear projections to head dimensions d_k = d_v = d_model / h
Scaled dot‑product attention with softmax
Support masking (e.g., padding or causal masks)
Apply dropout to attention weights
Concatenate heads and apply a final output projection
Output shape: (batch_size, seq_len, d_model)

Follow‑up A: Why is the dot‑product attention scaled by sqrt(d_k)?

Nucleus (Top‑p) Sampling Implementation

Inputs:

Logits over a vocabulary (shape (vocab_size,) or (batch_size, vocab_size))
Threshold p in (0, 1]

Requirements:

Convert logits to probabilities
Select the smallest set of tokens whose cumulative probability ≥ p
Renormalize the selected probabilities
Sample the next token from this set

Follow‑up B: What are the advantages and disadvantages of top‑p sampling compared with top‑k sampling?

Implement attention and nucleus sampling; compare to top-k

Quick Overview

Implement attention and nucleus sampling; compare to top-k

Implement Multi‑Head Attention and Nucleus (Top‑p) Sampling

Context

Tasks

Write your answer

Implement attention and nucleus sampling; compare to top-k

Quick Overview

Implement attention and nucleus sampling; compare to top-k

Implement Multi‑Head Attention and Nucleus (Top‑p) Sampling

Context

Tasks

Write your answer