Apple Research just unearthed a forgotten AI technique and is using it to generate images

Apple has unveiled two new AI image generation models, TarFlow and STARFlow, based on Normalizing Flows technology. These models combine flow-based techniques with Transformer architecture to create high-quality images. TarFlow generates images directly in pixel space, while STARFlow works in latent space for improved scalability. The models offer advantages like exact likelihood calculation and potential on-device processing. Apple's approach differs from OpenAI's token-based GPT-4o, focusing on efficiency and mobile compatibility rather than cloud-based flexibility.