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Ternary Gamma Semirings: From Neural Implementation to Categorical Foundations

arXiv cs.AI / 3/23/2026

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Key Points

  • The paper introduces the Ternary Gamma Semiring to connect neural network learning with abstract algebra and shows a minimal counterexample where standard networks fail on compositional generalization (0% accuracy) without a logical constraint.
  • With the constraint, the same architecture learns a perfectly structured feature space, achieving 100% accuracy on novel combinations.
  • The learned feature space is proven to form a finite commutative ternary Gamma-semiring, whose ternary operation implements the majority vote rule.
  • The work aligns with Gokavarapu et al.'s classification, identifying a Boolean-type ternary Gamma-semiring with |T|=4 and |Gamma|=1, unique up to isomorphism.
  • It argues that neural networks approximate mathematically natural structures, internalize algebraic axioms, and that logical constraints guide convergence to canonical forms, inaugurating Computational Gamma-Algebra as an interdisciplinary direction.

Abstract

This paper establishes a theoretical framework connecting neural network learning with abstract algebraic structures. We first present a minimal counterexample demonstrating that standard neural networks completely fail on compositional generalization tasks (0% accuracy). By introducing a logical constraint -- the Ternary Gamma Semiring -- the same architecture learns a perfectly structured feature space, achieving 100% accuracy on novel combinations. We prove that this learned feature space constitutes a finite commutative ternary \Gamma-semiring, whose ternary operation implements the majority vote rule. Comparing with the recently established classification of Gokavarapu et al., we show that this structure corresponds precisely to the Boolean-type ternary \Gamma-semiring with |T|=4, |\Gamma|=1}, which is unique up to isomorphism in their enumeration. Our findings reveal three profound conclusions: (i) the success of neural networks can be understood as an approximation of mathematically ``natural'' structures; (ii) learned representations generalize because they internalize algebraic axioms (symmetry, idempotence, majority property); (iii) logical constraints guide networks to converge to these canonical forms. This work provides a rigorous mathematical framework for understanding neural network generalization and inaugurates the new interdisciplinary direction of Computational \Gamma-Algebra.