Major life transitions demand high-stakes decisions, yet people often struggle to imagine how their future selves will live with the consequences. To support this limited capacity for mental time travel, we introduce AI-enabled digital twins that have ``lived through'' simulated life scenarios. Rather than predicting optimal outcomes, these simulations extend prospective cognition by making alternative futures vivid enough to support deliberation without assuming which path is best. We evaluate this idea in a randomized controlled study (N=192) using multimodal synthesis - facial age progression, voice cloning, and large language model dialogue - to create personalized avatars representing participants 30 years forward. Young adults 18 to 28 years old described pending binary decisions and were assigned to guided imagination or one of four avatar conditions: single-option, balanced dual-option, or expanded three-option with a system-generated novel alternative. Results showed asymmetric effects: single-sided avatars increased shifts toward the presented option, while balanced presentation produced movement toward both. Introducing a system-generated third option increased adoption of this new alternative compared to control, suggesting that AI-generated future selves can expand choice by surfacing paths that might otherwise go unnoticed. Participants rated evaluative reasoning and eudaimonic meaning-making as more important than emotional or visual vividness. Perceived persuasiveness and baseline agency predicted decision change. These findings advance understanding of AI-mediated episodic prospection and raise questions about autonomy in AI-augmented decisions.

Evaluating faithfulness of Large Language Models (LLMs) to a given task is a complex challenge. We propose two new unsupervised metrics for faithfulness evaluation using insights from information theory and thermodynamics. Our approach treats an LLM as a bipartite information engine where hidden layers act as a Maxwell demon controlling transformations of context $C $ into answer $A$ via prompt $Q$. We model Question-Context-Answer (QCA) triplets as probability distributions over shared topics. Topic transformations from $C$ to $Q$ and $A$ are modeled as transition matrices ${\bf Q}$ and ${\bf A}$ encoding the query goal and actual result, respectively. Our semantic faithfulness (SF) metric quantifies faithfulness for any given QCA triplet by the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between these matrices. Both matrices are inferred simultaneously via convex optimization of this KL divergence, and the final SF metric is obtained by mapping the minimal divergence onto the unit interval [0,1], where higher scores indicate greater faithfulness. Furthermore, we propose a thermodynamics-based semantic entropy production (SEP) metric in answer generation, and show that high faithfulness generally implies low entropy production. The SF and SEP metrics can be used jointly or separately for LLM evaluation and hallucination control. We demonstrate our framework on LLM summarization of corporate SEC 10-K filings.

Sphere packing, Hilbert's eighteenth problem, asks for the densest arrangement of congruent spheres in n-dimensional Euclidean space. Although relevant to areas such as cryptography, crystallography, and medical imaging, the problem remains unresolved: beyond a few special dimensions, neither optimal packings nor tight upper bounds are known. Even a major breakthrough in dimension $n=8$, later recognised with a Fields Medal, underscores its difficulty. A leading technique for upper bounds, the three-point method, reduces the problem to solving large, high-precision semidefinite programs (SDPs). Because each candidate SDP may take days to evaluate, standard data-intensive AI approaches are infeasible. We address this challenge by formulating SDP construction as a sequential decision process, the SDP game, in which a policy assembles SDP formulations from a set of admissible components. Using a sample-efficient model-based framework that combines Bayesian optimisation with Monte Carlo Tree Search, we obtain new state-of-the-art upper bounds in dimensions $4-16$, showing that model-based search can advance computational progress in longstanding geometric problems. Together, these results demonstrate that sample-efficient, model-based search can make tangible progress on mathematically rigid, evaluation limited problems, pointing towards a complementary direction for AI-assisted discovery beyond large-scale LLM-driven exploration.

This paper proposes using the Linux kernel ftrace framework, particularly the function graph tracer, to generate informative system level data for machine learning (ML) applications. Experiments on a real world encryption detection task demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed features across several learning algorithms. The learner faces the problem of detecting encryption activities across a large dataset of files, using function call traces and graph based features. Empirical results highlight an outstanding accuracy of 99.28 on the task at hand, underscoring the efficacy of features derived from the function graph tracer. The results were further validated in an additional experiment targeting a multilabel classification problem, in which running programs were identified from trace data. This work provides comprehensive methodologies for preprocessing raw trace data and extracting graph based features, offering significant advancements in applying ML to system behavior analysis, program identification, and anomaly detection. By bridging the gap between system tracing and ML, this paper paves the way for innovative solutions in performance monitoring and security analytics.

To enhance the performance of large language models (LLMs) in various domain-specific applications, sensitive data such as healthcare, law, and finance are being used to privately customize or fine-tune these models. Such privately adapted LLMs are regarded as either personal privacy assets or corporate intellectual property. Therefore, protecting model weights and maintaining strict confidentiality during deployment and distribution have become critically important. However, existing model formats and deployment frameworks provide little to no built-in support for confidentiality, access control, or secure integration with trusted hardware. Current methods for securing model deployment either rely on computationally expensive cryptographic techniques or tightly controlled private infrastructure. Although these approaches can be effective in specific scenarios, they are difficult and costly for widespread deployment. In this paper, we introduce CryptoTensors, a secure and format-compatible file structure for confidential LLM distribution. Built as an extension to the widely adopted Safetensors format, CryptoTensors incorporates tensor-level encryption and embedded access control policies, while preserving critical features such as lazy loading and partial deserialization. It enables transparent decryption and automated key management, supporting flexible licensing and secure model execution with minimal overhead. We implement a proof-of-concept library, benchmark its performance across serialization and runtime scenarios, and validate its compatibility with existing inference frameworks, including Hugging Face Transformers and vLLM. Our results highlight CryptoTensors as a light-weight, efficient, and developer-friendly solution for safeguarding LLM weights in real-world and widespread deployments.

Early detection of cancer plays a key role in improving survival rates, but identifying reliable biomarkers from RNA-seq data is still a major challenge. The data are high-dimensional, and conventional statistical methods often fail to capture the complex relationships between genes. In this study, we introduce RGE-GCN (Recursive Gene Elimination with Graph Convolutional Networks), a framework that combines feature selection and classification in a single pipeline. Our approach builds a graph from gene expression profiles, uses a Graph Convolutional Network to classify cancer versus normal samples, and applies Integrated Gradients to highlight the most informative genes. By recursively removing less relevant genes, the model converges to a compact set of biomarkers that are both interpretable and predictive. We evaluated RGE-GCN on synthetic data as well as real-world RNA-seq cohorts of lung, kidney, and cervical cancers. Across all datasets, the method consistently achieved higher accuracy and F1-scores than standard tools such as DESeq2, edgeR, and limma-voom. Importantly, the selected genes aligned with well-known cancer pathways including PI3K-AKT, MAPK, SUMOylation, and immune regulation. These results suggest that RGE-GCN shows promise as a generalizable approach for RNA-seq based early cancer detection and biomarker discovery (https://rce-gcn.streamlit.app/ ).

Electrocardiogram is a useful diagnostic signal that can detect cardiac abnormalities by measuring the electrical activity generated by the heart. Due to its rapid, non-invasive, and richly informative characteristics, ECG has many emerging applications. In this paper, we study novel deep learning technologies to effectively manage and analyse ECG data, with the aim of building a diagnostic model, accurately and quickly, that can substantially reduce the burden on medical workers. Unlike the existing ECG models that exhibit a high misdiagnosis rate, our deep learning approaches can automatically extract the features of ECG data through end-to-end training. Specifically, we first devise EfficientECG, an accurate and lightweight classification model for ECG analysis based on the existing EfficientNet model, which can effectively handle high-frequency long-sequence ECG data with various leading types. On top of that, we next propose a cross-attention-based feature fusion model of EfficientECG for analysing multi-lead ECG data with multiple features (e.g., gender and age). Our evaluations on representative ECG datasets validate the superiority of our model against state-of-the-art works in terms of high precision, multi-feature fusion, and lightweights.

Abstract--The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the standards body for mobile networks, is in the final phase of Release 19 standardization and is beginning Release 20. Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning (AI/ML) has brought about a paradigm shift in technology and it is being adopted across industries and verticals. This paper focuses on the AI/ML related technological advancements and features introduced in Release 19 within the Service and System Aspects (SA) T echnical specifications group of 3GPP . The advancements relate to two paradigms: (i) enhancements that AI/ML brought to the 5G advanced system (AI for network), e.g. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are transforming numerous industries and multiple aspects of modern life. From personalized recommendations on streaming platforms to real-time fraud detection in banking, AI/ML technologies are driving smarter decision-making across industries. In retail, they assist in inventory and supply chain management. In transportation, automotive vehicles rely on ML for object detection and navigation. As data continues to grow, these technologies are evolving rapidly, reshaping how we work, interact, and solve complex problems, making them central to innovation in today's world.

Merging neural networks without retraining is central to federated and distributed learning. Common methods such as weight averaging or Fisher merging often lose accuracy and are unstable across seeds. CoGraM (Contextual Granular Merging) is a multi-stage, context-sensitive, loss-based, and iterative optimization method across layers, neurons, and weight levels that aligns decisions with loss differences and thresholds and prevents harmful updates through rollback. CoGraM is an optimization method that addresses the weaknesses of methods such as Fisher and can significantly improve the merged network.

The global rise in type 2 diabetes underscores the need for scalable and cost-effective screening methods. Current diagnosis requires biochemical assays, which are invasive and costly. Advances in consumer wearables have enabled early explorations of machine learning-based disease detection, but prior studies were limited to controlled settings. We present SweetDeep, a compact neural network trained on physiological and demographic data from 285 (diabetic and non-diabetic) participants in the EU and MENA regions, collected using Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 devices in free-living conditions over six days. Each participant contributed multiple 2-minute sensor recordings per day, totaling approximately 20 recordings per individual. Despite comprising fewer than 3,000 parameters, SweetDeep achieves 82.5% patient-level accuracy (82.1% macro-F1, 79.7% sensitivity, 84.6% specificity) under three-fold cross-validation, with an expected calibration error of 5.5%. Allowing the model to abstain on less than 10% of low-confidence patient predictions yields an accuracy of 84.5% on the remaining patients. These findings demonstrate that combining engineered features with lightweight architectures can support accurate, rapid, and generalizable detection of type 2 diabetes in real-world wearable settings.