# Joint Diffusion models in Continual Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.08224 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.08224/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Robustness, privacy and adversarial aspects, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 62 of its 82 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Nov 2024.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [Robustness, privacy and adversarial aspects](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/robustness-privacy-and-adversarial-aspects/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 62)

- [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)
- [LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09685/) (2021)
- [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)
- [Overcoming catastrophic forgetting in neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00796/) (2016)
- [DreamBooth: Fine Tuning Text-to-Image Diffusion Models for Subject-Driven Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.12242/) (2022)
- [Improved Techniques for Training GANs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.03498/) (2016)
- [Learning without Forgetting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.09282/) (2016)
- [RandAugment: Practical automated data augmentation with a reduced search space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.13719/) (2019)
- [FixMatch: Simplifying Semi-Supervised Learning with Consistency and Confidence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.07685/) (2020)
- [MixMatch: A Holistic Approach to Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.02249/) (2019)
- [Big Self-Supervised Models are Strong Semi-Supervised Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10029/) (2020)
- [Continual Lifelong Learning with Neural Networks: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07569/) (2018)
- [Self-training with Noisy Student improves ImageNet classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.04252/) (2019)
- [Continual Learning with Deep Generative Replay](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.08690/) (2017)
- [Temporal Ensembling for Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.02242/) (2016)
- [Virtual Adversarial Training: A Regularization Method for Supervised and Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.03976/) (2017)
- [Plug-and-Play Diffusion Features for Text-Driven Image-to-Image Translation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.12572/) (2022)
- [Riemannian Walk for Incremental Learning: Understanding Forgetting and Intransigence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.10112/) (2018)
- [Three scenarios for continual learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.07734/) (2019)
- [FlexMatch: Boosting Semi-Supervised Learning with Curriculum Pseudo Labeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.08263/) (2021)
- [Label-Efficient Semantic Segmentation with Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.03126/) (2021)
- [Semi-Supervised Learning with Deep Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1406.5298/) (2014)
- [Regularization With Stochastic Transformations and Perturbations for Deep Semi-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04586/) (2016)
- [Online Continual Learning with Maximally Interfered Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.04742/) (2019)
- [Meta Pseudo Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.10580/) (2020)
- [Diffusion Models already have a Semantic Latent Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.10960/) (2022)
- [Diffusion Hyperfeatures: Searching Through Time and Space for Semantic Correspondence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14334/) (2023)
- [ZipLoRA: Any Subject in Any Style by Effectively Merging LoRAs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.13600/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [HiCL: Hippocampal-Inspired Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.16651/) (2025)
- [CCD: Continual Consistency Diffusion for Lifelong Generative Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11936/) (2025)
- [Deep Generative Continual Learning using Functional LoRA: FunLoRA](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.02631/) (2025)
- [On the Role of Inductive Bias in Time-Series Pretraining: A Case Study in Learning Generalizable Representations for Clinical Time Series](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.26194/) (2026)
- [In Two Minds about Lifelong Learning: Exploring Hemispheric Redundancy and Specialisation in Neural Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.19514/) (2026)
- [Decoupling Knowledge and Privacy: Post-Task Self-Distillation Replay for LLM Continual Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.29711/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In this work, we introduce JDCL - a new method for continual learning with generative rehearsal based on joint diffusion models. Neural networks suffer from catastrophic forgetting defined as abrupt loss in the model's performance when retrained with additional data coming from a different distribution. Generative-replay-based continual learning methods try to mitigate this issue by retraining a model with a combination of new and rehearsal data sampled from a generative model. In this work, we propose to extend this idea by combining a continually trained classifier with a diffusion-based generative model into a single - jointly optimized neural network. We show that such shared parametrization, combined with the knowledge distillation technique allows for stable adaptation to new tasks without catastrophic forgetting. We evaluate our approach on several benchmarks, where it outperforms recent state-of-the-art generative replay techniques. Additionally, we extend our method to the semi-supervised continual learning setup, where it outperforms competing buffer-based replay techniques, and evaluate, in a self-supervised manner, the quality of trained representations.