What is 'model collapse'? An expert explains the rumours about an impending AI doom By Aaron J. Snoswell

Artificial intelligence (AI) prophets and newsmongers are forecasting the end of the generative AI hype, with talk of an impending catastrophic "model collapse".

But how realistic are these predictions? And what is model collapse anyway?

Discussed in 2023, but popularised more recently, "model collapse" refers to a hypothetical scenario where future AI systems get progressively dumber due to the increase of AI-generated data on the internet ...

... In 2023, researchers started wondering if they could get away with only relying on AI-created data for training, instead of human-generated data ...

... However, researchers found that without high-quality human data, AI systems trained on AI-made data get dumber and dumber as each model learns from the previous one. It's like a digital version of the problem of inbreeding (read on)


Aaron J. Snoswell is a Research Fellow in AI Accountability at Queensland University of Technology. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.