Likelihood Based Generative

Likelihood-based generative models aim to learn probability distributions of data to generate new samples and estimate data likelihoods. Current research focuses on improving the accuracy and efficiency of likelihood estimation, particularly addressing issues like posterior collapse in hierarchical VAEs and likelihood misestimation in other architectures such as normalizing flows and PixelCNN++. These advancements are impacting various fields, including image generation, precipitation downscaling, and outlier detection, by enabling more accurate density estimation and improved generation quality, even with limited data. The development of novel algorithms, such as Verlet flows for exact likelihood computation and data mollification techniques for improved optimization, are driving progress in this area.

Papers