GeoBlock: Inferring Block Granularity from Dependency Geometry in Diffusion Language Models

arXiv cs.CL / 3/31/2026

📰 NewsSignals & Early TrendsIdeas & Deep AnalysisModels & Research

Key Points

  • GeoBlock is a geometry-aware block inference framework for diffusion language models that derives optimal block granularity from attention-derived dependency geometry rather than fixed schedules or heuristics.
  • The method distinguishes between token regions with strong causal ordering (requiring sequential updates) and semantically cohesive regions (amenable to parallel refinement) to set block boundaries dynamically during decoding.
  • GeoBlock preserves the parallel efficiency of block diffusion while enforcing dependency-consistent refinement to improve autoregressive reliability.
  • The approach requires no additional training and can be integrated into existing block diffusion architectures.
  • Experiments on multiple benchmarks report that GeoBlock improves block diffusion accuracy with only a small additional computational cost, while reliably identifying geometry-consistent block boundaries.

Abstract

Block diffusion enables efficient parallel refinement in diffusion language models, but its decoding behavior depends critically on block size. Existing block-sizing strategies rely on fixed rules or heuristic signals and do not account for the dependency geometry that determines which tokens can be safely refined together. This motivates a geometry view of diffusion decoding: \emph{regions with strong causal ordering require sequential updates, whereas semantically cohesive regions admit parallel refinement.} We introduce GeoBlock, a geometry-aware block inference framework that determines block granularity directly from attention-derived dependency geometry. Instead of relying on predefined schedules or local confidence heuristics, GeoBlock analyzes cross-token dependency patterns to identify geometrically stable refinement regions and dynamically determines appropriate block boundaries during decoding. By adapting block granularity to the dependency geometry, GeoBlock preserves the parallel efficiency of block diffusion while enforcing dependency-consistent refinement that exhibits autoregressive reliability. GeoBlock requires no additional training and integrates seamlessly into existing block diffusion architectures. Extensive experiments across multiple benchmarks show that GeoBlock reliably identifies geometry-consistent block boundaries and improves the accuracy of block diffusion with only a small additional computational budget.