What Happens When AI Eats Itself

Generative AI models are increasingly relying on synthetic data for training purposes due to the scarcity of high-quality real-world data. However, this practice can lead to Model Autophagy Disorder (MAD), where a model collapses after being repeatedly trained on AI-generated data. A study found that ChatGPT's performance has degraded over time as it began relying more heavily on synthetic data. This raises concerns about the quality of outputs from generative models and highlights the need for preserving original data to maintain better model performance.