Diffusion Noise Feature: Accurate and Fast Generated Image Detection

Generative models have reached an advanced stage where they can produce remarkably realistic images. However, this remarkable generative capability also introduces the risk of disseminating false or misleading information. Notably, existing image detectors for generated images encounter challenges such as low accuracy and limited generalization. This paper seeks to address this issue by seeking a representation with strong generalization capabilities to enhance the detection of generated images. Our investigation has revealed that real and generated images display distinct latent Gaussian representations when subjected to an inverse diffusion process within a pre-trained diffusion model. Exploiting this disparity, we can amplify subtle artifacts in generated images. Building upon this insight, we introduce a novel image representation known as Diffusion Noise Feature (DNF). DNF is an ensemble representation that estimates the noise generated during the inverse diffusion process. A simple classifier, e.g., ResNet, trained on DNF achieves high accuracy, robustness, and generalization capabilities for detecting generated images, even from previously unseen classes or models. We conducted experiments using a widely recognized and standard dataset, achieving state-of-the-art effects of Detection.