# Analyzing Diffusion as Serial Reproduction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.14821 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14821/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Diffusion foundations and sampling, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 15 of its 29 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 Sep 2022.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [Diffusion foundations and sampling](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/diffusion-foundations-and-sampling/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.11239/) (2020)
- [U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04597/) (2015)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.13456/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Models Beat GANs on Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.05233/) (2021)
- [Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1503.03585/) (2015)
- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [Fashion-MNIST: a Novel Image Dataset for Benchmarking Machine Learning Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.07747/) (2017)
- [Generative Modeling by Estimating Gradients of the Data Distribution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.05600/) (2019)
- [Structured Denoising Diffusion Models in Discrete State-Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03006/) (2021)
- [Deep Learning for Classical Japanese Literature](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.01718/) (2018)
- [Cold Diffusion: Inverting Arbitrary Image Transforms Without Noise](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.09392/) (2022)
- [Learning Fast Samplers for Diffusion Models by Differentiating Through Sample Quality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05830/) (2022)
- [Soft Diffusion: Score Matching for General Corruptions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.05442/) (2022)
- [Bridging the prosody GAP: Genetic Algorithm with People to efficiently sample emotional prosody](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.04820/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Getting aligned on representational alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13018/) (2023)
- [Quantifying Human Priors over Social and Navigation Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.18651/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Diffusion models are a class of generative models that learn to synthesize samples by inverting a diffusion process that gradually maps data into noise. While these models have enjoyed great success recently, a full theoretical understanding of their observed properties is still lacking, in particular, their weak sensitivity to the choice of noise family and the role of adequate scheduling of noise levels for good synthesis. By identifying a correspondence between diffusion models and a well-known paradigm in cognitive science known as serial reproduction, whereby human agents iteratively observe and reproduce stimuli from memory, we show how the aforementioned properties of diffusion models can be explained as a natural consequence of this correspondence. We then complement our theoretical analysis with simulations that exhibit these key features. Our work highlights how classic paradigms in cognitive science can shed light on state-of-the-art machine learning problems.