arXiv Machine Learning

Epidemiology of Model Collapse: Modeling Synthetic Data Contamination via Bilayer SIR Dynamics

arXiv:2606. 05168v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Training on synthetic data causes model collapse, but existing analyses treat this as single-chain degradation.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 11

The Oligarch Barely Steers Model Collapse in Multi-Model Ecosystems

The paper investigates whether an oligopolistic concentration of generative AI models accelerates or steers the phenomenon of model collapse when models are recursively trained on each other’s outputs. Using controlled ecosystems of 13 open‑source models and an injected probe that pushes one model’s market share to 90%, the authors find that varying market concentration has little effect on the speed or final state of collapse. Instead, the pace of collapse is largely determined by which models supply the training pool and how susceptible those models are to being carried along, with human‑written text in the pool roughly halving the drift.

By Yangze Liu, Zhongyi Han
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 18

The Economics of Model Collapse: Equilibrium, Welfare, and Optimal Provenance Subsidies in Synthetic Data Markets

arXiv:2605. 20279v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the supply side of training data: an increasing share of new tokens, images, and structured records is produced by previous-generation models rather than by human originators.

By Gustav Olaf Yunus Laitinen-Fredriksson Lundstr\"om-Imanov