Gokul Srinath Seetha Ram

The Drift Kernel: Why Diffusion Models Change Even When Told Not To

Even when told to "do nothing," modern diffusion models subtly alter their output relative to the input they are supposed to preserve. We call this effect No-Op Drift. We introduce the Drift Kernel K_M(sigma), defined as the expected perceptual deviation induced when running a diffusion model at noi