This paper presents a novel perspective on human-computer interaction (HCI), framing it as a dynamic interplay between human and computational agents within a networked system. Going beyond traditional interface-based approaches, we emphasize the importance of coordination and communication among heterogeneous agents with different capabilities, roles, and goals. A key distinction is made between multi-agent systems (MAS) and Centaurian systems, which represent two different paradigms of human-AI collaboration. MAS maintain agent autonomy, with structured protocols enabling cooperation, while Centau-rian systems deeply integrate human and AI capabilities, creating unified decision-making entities. To formalize these interactions, we introduce a framework for communication spaces, structured into surface, observation, and computation layers, ensuring seamless integration between MAS and Centaurian architectures, where colored Petri nets effectively represent structured Cen-taurian systems and high-level reconfigurable networks address the dynamic nature of MAS. Our research has practical applications in autonomous robotics, human-in-the-loop decision making, and AI-driven cognitive architectures, and provides a foundation for next-generation hybrid intelligence systems that balance structured coordination with emergent behavior. Keywords: multi-agent systems centaurian systems communication spaces satellite and swarm robots large action models (LAMs). 1 Introduction Agentic AI systems--capable of iterative planning, autonomous task decomposition, and continuous learning--are rapidly reshaping the landscape of human-computer interaction (HCI). Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) and advanced conversational agents have revitalized the field of multi-agent systems, whose roots in Artificial Intelligence predate the current rise of generative AI. Historically, multi-agent systems relied on agents with relatively constrained capabilities; however, the emergence of powerful, conversationally Corresponding author: uwe.borghoff@unibw.de

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have enabled processing of larger inputs, leading everyday software developers to increasingly rely on chat-based large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to detect vulnerabilities across entire files, not just within functions. This new development practice requires researchers to urgently investigate whether commonly used LLMs can effectively analyze large file-sized inputs, in order to provide timely insights for software developers and engineers about the pros and cons of this emerging technological trend. Hence, the goal of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of several state-of-the-art chat-based LLMs, including the GPT models, in detecting in-file vulnerabilities. We conducted a costly investigation into how the performance of LLMs varies based on vulnerability type, input size, and vulnerability location within the file. To give enough statistical power to our study, we could only focus on the three most common (as well as dangerous) vulnerabilities: XSS, SQL injection, and path traversal. Our findings indicate that the effectiveness of LLMs in detecting these vulnerabilities is strongly influenced by both the location of the vulnerability and the overall size of the input. Specifically, regardless of the vulnerability type, LLMs tend to significantly (p < .05) underperform when detecting vulnerabilities located toward the end of larger files, a pattern we call the 'lost-in-the-end' effect. Finally, to further support software developers and practitioners, we also explored the optimal input size for these LLMs and presented a simple strategy for identifying it, which can be applied to other models and vulnerability types. Eventually, we show how adjusting the input size can lead to significant improvements in LLM-based vulnerability detection, with an average recall increase of over 37% across all models.

As artificial intelligence (AI) systems become increasingly integral to critical infrastructure and global operations, the need for a unified, trustworthy governance framework is more urgent that ever. This paper proposes a novel approach to AI governance, utilizing blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to establish a decentralized, globally recognized framework that ensures security, privacy, and trustworthiness of AI systems across borders. The paper presents specific implementation scenarios within the financial sector, outlines a phased deployment timeline over the next decade, and addresses potential challenges with solutions grounded in current research. By synthesizing advancements in blockchain, AI ethics, and cybersecurity, this paper offers a comprehensive roadmap for a decentralized AI governance framework capable of adapting to the complex and evolving landscape of global AI regulation.

Environmental and individualistic variables affect the rate of human decomposition in complex ways. These effects complicate the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) based on observed decomposition characteristics. In this work, we develop a generative probabilistic model for decomposing human remains based on PMI and a wide range of environmental and individualistic variables. This model explicitly represents the effect of each variable, including PMI, on the appearance of each decomposition characteristic, allowing for direct interpretation of model effects and enabling the use of the model for PMI inference and optimal experimental design. In addition, the probabilistic nature of the model allows for the integration of expert knowledge in the form of prior distributions. We fit this model to a diverse set of 2,529 cases from the GeoFOR dataset. We demonstrate that the model accurately predicts 24 decomposition characteristics with an ROC AUC score of 0.85. Using Bayesian inference techniques, we invert the decomposition model to predict PMI as a function of the observed decomposition characteristics and environmental and individualistic variables, producing an R-squared measure of 71%. Finally, we demonstrate how to use the fitted model to design future experiments that maximize the expected amount of new information about the mechanisms of decomposition using the Expected Information Gain formalism.

With the involvement of multiple programming languages in modern software development, cross-lingual code clone detection has gained traction with the software engineering community. Numerous studies have explored this topic, proposing various promising approaches. Inspired by the significant advances in machine learning in recent years, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), which have demonstrated their ability to tackle various tasks, this paper revisits cross-lingual code clone detection. We investigate the capabilities of four (04) LLMs and eight (08) prompts for the identification of cross-lingual code clones. Additionally, we evaluate a pre-trained embedding model to assess the effectiveness of the generated representations for classifying clone and non-clone pairs. Both studies (based on LLMs and Embedding models) are evaluated using two widely used cross-lingual datasets, XLCoST and CodeNet. Our results show that LLMs can achieve high F1 scores, up to 0.98, for straightforward programming examples (e.g., from XLCoST). However, they not only perform less well on programs associated with complex programming challenges but also do not necessarily understand the meaning of code clones in a cross-lingual setting. We show that embedding models used to represent code fragments from different programming languages in the same representation space enable the training of a basic classifier that outperforms all LLMs by ~2 and ~24 percentage points on the XLCoST and CodeNet datasets, respectively. This finding suggests that, despite the apparent capabilities of LLMs, embeddings provided by embedding models offer suitable representations to achieve state-of-the-art performance in cross-lingual code clone detection.

Public transportation plays a crucial role in our lives, and the road network is a vital component in the implementation of smart cities. Recent advancements in AI have enabled the development of advanced monitoring systems capable of detecting anomalies in road surfaces and road signs, which, if unaddressed, can lead to serious road accidents. This paper presents an innovative approach to enhance road safety through the detection and classification of traffic signs and road surface damage using advanced deep learning techniques. This integrated approach supports proactive maintenance strategies, improving road safety and resource allocation for the Molise region and the city of Campobasso. The resulting system, developed as part of the Casa delle Tecnologie Emergenti (House of Emergent Technologies) Molise (Molise CTE) research project funded by the Italian Minister of Economic Growth (MIMIT), leverages cutting-edge technologies such as Cloud Computing and High Performance Computing with GPU utilization. It serves as a valuable tool for municipalities, enabling quick detection of anomalies and the prompt organization of maintenance operations

The Tourism and Destination Management Organization (DMO) industry is rapidly evolving to adapt to new technologies and traveler expectations. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers an astonishing and innovative opportunity to enhance the tourism experience by providing personalized, interactive and engaging assistance. In this article, we propose a generative AI-based chatbot for tourism assistance. The chatbot leverages AI ability to generate realistic and creative texts, adopting the friendly persona of the well-known Italian all-knowledgeable aunties, to provide tourists with personalized information, tailored and dynamic pre, during and post recommendations and trip plans and personalized itineraries, using both text and voice commands, and supporting different languages to satisfy Italian and foreign tourists expectations. This work is under development in the Molise CTE research project, funded by the Italian Minister of the Economic Growth (MIMIT), with the aim to leverage the best emerging technologies available, such as Cloud and AI to produce state of the art solutions in the Smart City environment.

Decompilation transforms compiled code back into a high-level programming language for analysis when source code is unavailable. Previous work has primarily focused on enhancing decompilation performance by increasing the scale of model parameters or training data for pre-training. Based on the characteristics of the decompilation task, we propose two methods: (1) Without fine-tuning, the Self-Constructed Context Decompilation (sc$^2$dec) method recompiles the LLM's decompilation results to construct pairs for in-context learning, helping the model improve decompilation performance. (2) Fine-grained Alignment Enhancement (FAE), which meticulously aligns assembly code with source code at the statement level by leveraging debugging information, is employed during the fine-tuning phase to achieve further improvements in decompilation. By integrating these two methods, we achieved a Re-Executability performance improvement of approximately 7.35\% on the Decompile-Eval benchmark, establishing a new state-of-the-art performance of 55.03\%.

Decompilation aims to convert binary code to high-level source code, but traditional tools like Ghidra often produce results that are difficult to read and execute. Motivated by the advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs), we propose LLM4Decompile, the first and largest open-source LLM series (1.3B to 33B) trained to decompile binary code. We optimize the LLM training process and introduce the LLM4Decompile-End models to decompile binary directly. The resulting models significantly outperform GPT-4o and Ghidra on the HumanEval and ExeBench benchmarks by over 100%. Additionally, we improve the standard refinement approach to fine-tune the LLM4Decompile-Ref models, enabling them to effectively refine the decompiled code from Ghidra and achieve a further 16.2% improvement over the LLM4Decompile-End. LLM4Decompile demonstrates the potential of LLMs to revolutionize binary code decompilation, delivering remarkable improvements in readability and executability while complementing conventional tools for optimal results. Our code, dataset, and models are released at https://github.com/albertan017/LLM4Decompile

SARS-CoV-2, the highly contagious pathogen responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has persistent effects that begin four weeks after initial infection and last for an undetermined duration. These chronic effects are more harmful than acute ones. This review explores the long-term impact of the virus on various human organs, including the pulmonary, cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, endocrine, and lymphoid systems, particularly in older adults. Regarding diagnosis, RT-PCR is the gold standard for detecting COVID-19, though it requires specialized equipment, skilled personnel, and considerable time to produce results. To address these limitations, artificial intelligence in imaging and microfluidics technologies offers promising alternatives for diagnosing COVID-19 efficiently. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies are effective in mitigating the persistent impacts of COVID-19. These strategies enhance immunity in post-COVID-19 patients by reducing cytokine release syndrome, improving T cell response, and increasing the circulation of activated natural killer and CD8 T cells in blood and tissues. This, in turn, alleviates symptoms such as fever, nausea, fatigue, muscle weakness, and pain. Vaccines, including inactivated viral, live attenuated viral, protein subunit, viral vectored, mRNA, DNA, and nanoparticle vaccines, significantly reduce the adverse long-term effects of the virus. However, no vaccine has been reported to provide lifetime protection against COVID-19. Consequently, protective measures such as physical distancing, mask usage, and hand hygiene remain essential strategies. This review offers a comprehensive understanding of the persistent effects of COVID-19 on individuals of varying ages, along with insights into diagnosis, treatment, vaccination, and future preventative measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2.