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Edge Deployment of Small Language Models, a comprehensive comparison of CPU, GPU and NPU backends

Prieto, Pablo, Abad, Pablo

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Edge computing processes data where it is generated, enabling faster decisions, lower bandwidth usage, and improved privacy. However, edge devices typically operate under strict constraints on processing power, memory, and energy consumption, making them unsuitable for large language models (LLMs). Fortunately, Small Language Models (SLMs) offer lightweight alternatives that bring AI inference to resource-constrained environments by significantly reducing computational cost while remaining suitable for specialization and customization. In this scenario, selecting the hardware platform that best balances performance and efficiency for SLM inference is challenging due to strict resource limitations. To address this issue, this study evaluates the inference performance and energy efficiency of commercial CPUs (Intel and ARM), GPUs (NVIDIA), and NPUs (RaiderChip) for running SLMs. GPUs, the usual platform of choice, are compared against commercial NPUs and recent multi-core CPUs. While NPUs leverage custom hardware designs optimized for computation, modern CPUs increasingly incorporate dedicated features targeting language-model workloads. Using a common execution framework and a suite of state-of-the-art SLMs, we analyze both maximum achievable performance and processing and energy efficiency across commercial solutions available for each platform. The results indicate that specialized backends outperform general-purpose CPUs, with NPUs achieving the highest performance by a wide margin. Bandwidth normalization proves essential for fair cross-architecture comparisons. Although low-power ARM processors deliver competitive results when energy usage is considered, metrics that combine performance and power (such as EDP) again highlight NPUs as the dominant architecture. These findings show that designs optimized for both efficiency and performance offer a clear advantage for edge workloads.



Exploring Federated Learning for Thermal Urban Feature Segmentation -- A Comparison of Centralized and Decentralized Approaches

Duda, Leonhard, Alibabaei, Khadijeh, Vollmer, Elena, Klug, Leon, Kozlov, Valentin, Berberi, Lisana, Benz, Mishal, Volk, Rebekka, Muriedas, Juan Pedro Gutiérrez Hermosillo, Götz, Markus, Díaz, Judith Sáínz-Pardo, García, Álvaro López, Schultmann, Frank, Streit, Achim

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Federated Learning (FL) is an approach for training a shared Machine Learning (ML) model with distributed training data and multiple participants. FL allows bypassing limitations of the traditional Centralized Machine Learning CL if data cannot be shared or stored centrally due to privacy or technical restrictions -- the participants train the model locally with their training data and do not need to share it among the other participants. This paper investigates the practical implementation and effectiveness of FL in a real-world scenario, specifically focusing on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based thermal images for common thermal feature detection in urban environments. The distributed nature of the data arises naturally and makes it suitable for FL applications, as images captured in two German cities are available. This application presents unique challenges due to non-identical distribution and feature characteristics of data captured at both locations. The study makes several key contributions by evaluating FL algorithms in real deployment scenarios rather than simulation. We compare several FL approaches with a centralized learning baseline across key performance metrics such as model accuracy, training time, communication overhead, and energy usage. This paper also explores various FL workflows, comparing client-controlled workflows and server-controlled workflows. The findings of this work serve as a valuable reference for understanding the practical application and limitations of the FL methods in segmentation tasks in UAV-based imaging.


The Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Undergraduate Medical Education in Spain: Descriptive Analysis and International Perspectives

Janeiro, Ana Enériz, Pereira, Karina Pitombeira, Mayol, Julio, Crespo, Javier, Carballo, Fernando, Cabello, Juan B., Ramos-Casals, Manel, Corbacho, Bibiana Pérez, Turnes, Juan

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

AI is transforming medical practice and redefining the competencies that future healthcare professionals need to master. Despite international recommendations, the integration of AI into Medicine curricula in Spain had not been systematically evaluated until now. A cross-sectional study (July-September 2025) including Spanish universities offering the official degree in Medicine, according to the 'Register of Universities, Centers and Degrees (Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos RUCT)'. Curricula and publicly available institutional documentation were reviewed to identify courses and competencies related to AI in the 2025-2026 academic year. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Of the 52 universities analyzed, ten (19.2%) offer specific AI courses, whereas 36 (69.2%) include no related content. Most of the identified courses are elective, with a credit load ranging from three to six ECTS, representing on average 1.17% of the total 360 credits of the degree. The University of Jaén is the only institution offering a compulsory course with AI content. The territorial analysis reveals marked disparities: Andalusia leads with 55.5% of its universities incorporating AI training, while several communities lack any initiative in this area. The integration of AI into the medical degree in Spain is incipient, fragmented, and uneven, with a low weight in ECTS. The limited training load and predominance of elective courses restrict the preparation of future physicians to practice in a healthcare environment increasingly mediated by AI. The findings support the establishment of minimum standards and national monitoring of indicators.




Graph neural networks for residential location choice: connection to classical logit models

Cheng, Zhanhong, Hu, Lingqian, Bu, Yuheng, Zhou, Yuqi, Wang, Shenhao

arXiv.org Machine Learning

Researchers have adopted deep learning for classical discrete choice analysis as it can capture complex feature relationships and achieve higher predictive performance. However, the existing deep learning approaches cannot explicitly capture the relationship among choice alternatives, which has been a long-lasting focus in classical discrete choice models. To address the gap, this paper introduces Graph Neural Network (GNN) as a novel framework to analyze residential location choice. The GNN-based discrete choice models (GNN-DCMs) offer a structured approach for neural networks to capture dependence among spatial alternatives, while maintaining clear connections to classical random utility theory. Theoretically, we demonstrate that the GNN-DCMs incorporate the nested logit (NL) model and the spatially correlated logit (SCL) model as two specific cases, yielding novel algorithmic interpretation through message passing among alternatives' utilities. Empirically, the GNN-DCMs outperform benchmark MNL, SCL, and feedforward neural networks in predicting residential location choices among Chicago's 77 community areas. Regarding model interpretation, the GNN-DCMs can capture individual heterogeneity and exhibit spatially-aware substitution patterns. Overall, these results highlight the potential of GNN-DCMs as a unified and expressive framework for synergizing discrete choice modeling and deep learning in the complex spatial choice contexts.


Residual Feature Integration is Sufficient to Prevent Negative Transfer

Xu, Yichen, Nakada, Ryumei, Zhang, Linjun, Li, Lexin

arXiv.org Machine Learning

Transfer learning typically leverages representations learned from a source domain to improve performance on a target task. A common approach is to extract features from a pre-trained model and directly apply them for target prediction. However, this strategy is prone to negative transfer where the source representation fails to align with the target distribution. In this article, we propose Residual Feature Integration (REFINE), a simple yet effective method designed to mitigate negative transfer. Our approach combines a fixed source-side representation with a trainable target-side encoder and fits a shallow neural network on the resulting joint representation, which adapts to the target domain while preserving transferable knowledge from the source domain. Theoretically, we prove that REFINE is sufficient to prevent negative transfer under mild conditions, and derive the generalization bound demonstrating its theoretical benefit. Empirically, we show that REFINE consistently enhances performance across diverse application and data modalities including vision, text, and tabular data, and outperforms numerous alternative solutions. Our method is lightweight, architecture-agnostic, and robust, making it a valuable addition to the existing transfer learning toolbox.


Erzeugunsgrad, VC-Dimension and Neural Networks with rational activation function

Pardo, Luis Miguel, Sebastián, Daniel

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

The notion of Erzeugungsgrad was introduced by Joos Heintz in 1983 to bound the number of non-empty cells occurring after a process of quantifier elimination. We extend this notion and the combinatorial bounds of Theorem 2 in Heintz (1983) using the degree for constructible sets defined in Pardo-Sebastián (2022). We show that the Erzeugungsgrad is the key ingredient to connect affine Intersection Theory over algebraically closed fields and the VC-Theory of Computational Learning Theory for families of classifiers given by parameterized families of constructible sets. In particular, we prove that the VC-dimension and the Krull dimension are linearly related up to logarithmic factors based on Intersection Theory. Using this relation, we study the density of correct test sequences in evasive varieties. We apply these ideas to analyze parameterized families of neural networks with rational activation function.