We explore the connection between deep learning and information theory through the paradigm of diffusion models. A diffusion model converts noise into structured data by reinstating, imperfectly, information that is erased when data was diffused to noise.

This information is stored in a neural network during training. We quantify this information by introducing a measure called neural entropy, which is related to the total entropy produced by diffusion.

Neural entropy is a function of not just the data distribution, but also the diffusive process itself. Measurements of neural entropy on a few simple image diffusion models reveal that they are extremely efficient at compressing large ensembles of structured data.