Industry
Learning and Simulating Building Evacuation Patterns for Enhanced Safety Design Using Generative Models
Han, Jin, Zheng, Zhe, Gu, Yi, Lin, Jia-Rui, Lu, Xin-Zheng
Evacuation simulation is essential for building safety design, ensuring properly planned evacuation routes. However, traditional evacuation simulation relies heavily on refined modeling with extensive parameters, making it challenging to adopt such methods in a rapid iteration process in early design stages. Thus, this study proposes DiffEvac, a novel method to learn building evacuation patterns based on Generative Models (GMs), for efficient evacuation simulation and enhanced safety design. Initially, a dataset of 399 diverse functional layouts and corresponding evacuation heatmaps of buildings was established. Then, a decoupled feature representation is proposed to embed physical features like layouts and occupant density for GMs. Finally, a diffusion model based on image prompts is proposed to learn evacuation patterns from simulated evacuation heatmaps. Compared to existing research using Conditional GANs with RGB representation, DiffEvac achieves up to a 37.6% improvement in SSIM, 142% in PSNR, and delivers results 16 times faster, thereby cutting simulation time to 2 minutes. Case studies further demonstrate that the proposed method not only significantly enhances the rapid design iteration and adjustment process with efficient evacuation simulation but also offers new insights and technical pathways for future safety optimization in intelligent building design. The research implication is that the approach lowers the modeling burden, enables large-scale what-if exploration, and facilitates coupling with multi-objective design tools.
Simpliflow: A Lightweight Open-Source Framework for Rapid Creation and Deployment of Generative Agentic AI Workflows
Generative Agentic AI systems are emerging as a powerful paradigm for automating complex, multi-step tasks. However, many existing frameworks for building these systems introduce significant complexity, a steep learning curve, and substantial boilerplate code, hindering rapid prototyping and deployment. This paper introduces simpliflow, a lightweight, open-source Python framework designed to address these challenges. simpliflow enables the rapid development and orchestration of linear, deterministic agentic workflows through a declarative, JSON-based configuration. Its modular architecture decouples agent management, workflow execution, and post-processing, promoting ease of use and extensibility. By integrating with LiteLLM, it supports over 100 Large Language Models (LLMs) out-of-the-box. We present the architecture, operational flow, and core features of simpliflow, demonstrating its utility through diverse use cases ranging from software development simulation to real-time system interaction. A comparative analysis with prominent frameworks like LangChain and AutoGen highlights simpliflow's unique position as a tool optimized for simplicity, control, and speed in deterministic workflow environments.
AgentFlux: Decoupled Fine-Tuning & Inference for On-Device Agentic Systems
Kadekodi, Rohan, Jin, Zhan, Kamahori, Keisuke, Gu, Yile, Khatiri, Sean, Bayindirli, Noah H., Gorbunov, Sergey, Kasikci, Baris
The deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) as agentic orchestrators has revolutionized task automation, but the need for privacy-preserving, cost-effective solutions demands on-device inference capabilities. However, local LLMs consistently underperform compared to frontier models in tool calling scenarios, struggling with both tool selection from large tool sets and accurate argument generation for complex parameter structures. We introduce a methodology that disaggregates a tool-calling task into two distinct subtasks: tool selection and argument generation. We propose "decoupled fine-tuning", a novel post-training approach that employs LoRA fine-tuning to create dedicated LoRA adapters for tool selection and tool-specific argument generation using separate loss masking for each of the subtasks. Furthermore, we present AgentFlux, an inference framework that leverages the LoRA adapters created using decoupled fine-tuning to perform efficient agent orchestration with the help of local models on end-user devices. AgentFlux decomposes the tool-call generation step into tool selection and argument generation, and dynamically loads the corresponding LoRA adapters to generate tool calls. Additionally, AgentFlux implements hierarchical orchestration to restrict the number of tools required for tool selection. Our experiments on the MCP-Bench benchmark demonstrate that the Qwen-2.5-7B model trained using decoupled fine-tuning improves the tool calling accuracy of the base model by 46%, and outperforms other local reasoning, non-reasoning and fine-tuned models of similar size in all cases, and models that are 2x larger, in most cases.
Towards Adapting Federated & Quantum Machine Learning for Network Intrusion Detection: A Survey
Chaudhary, Devashish, Rajasegarar, Sutharshan, Pokhrel, Shiva Raj
This survey explores the integration of Federated Learning (FL) with Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS), with particular emphasis on deep learning and quantum machine learning approaches. FL enables collaborative model training across distributed devices while preserving data privacy-a critical requirement in network security contexts where sensitive traffic data cannot be centralized. Our comprehensive analysis systematically examines the full spectrum of FL architectures, deployment strategies, communication protocols, and aggregation methods specifically tailored for intrusion detection. We provide an in-depth investigation of privacy-preserving techniques, model compression approaches, and attack-specific federated solutions for threats including DDoS, MITM, and botnet attacks. The survey further delivers a pioneering exploration of Quantum FL (QFL), discussing quantum feature encoding, quantum machine learning algorithms, and quantum-specific aggregation methods that promise exponential speedups for complex pattern recognition in network traffic. Through rigorous comparative analysis of classical and quantum approaches, identification of research gaps, and evaluation of real-world deployments, we outline a concrete roadmap for industrial adoption and future research directions. This work serves as an authoritative reference for researchers and practitioners seeking to enhance privacy, efficiency, and robustness of federated intrusion detection systems in increasingly complex network environments, while preparing for the quantum-enhanced cybersecurity landscape of tomorrow.
Automated Knowledge Graph Construction using Large Language Models and Sentence Complexity Modelling
Anuyah, Sydney, Kaushik, Mehedi Mahmud, Dwarampudi, Krishna, Shiradkar, Rakesh, Durresi, Arjan, Chakraborty, Sunandan
We introduce CoDe-KG, an open-source, end-to-end pipeline for extracting sentence-level knowledge graphs by combining robust coreference resolution with syntactic sentence decomposition. Using our model, we contribute a dataset of over 150,000 knowledge triples, which is open source. We also contribute a training corpus of 7248 rows for sentence complexity, 190 rows of gold human annotations for co-reference resolution using open source lung-cancer abstracts from PubMed, 900 rows of gold human annotations for sentence conversion policies, and 398 triples of gold human annotations. We systematically select optimal prompt-model pairs across five complexity categories, showing that hybrid chain-of-thought and few-shot prompting yields up to 99.8% exact-match accuracy on sentence simplification. On relation extraction (RE), our pipeline achieves 65.8% macro-F1 on REBEL, an 8-point gain over the prior state of the art, and 75.7% micro-F1 on WebNLG2, while matching or exceeding performance on Wiki-NRE and CaRB. Ablation studies demonstrate that integrating coreference and decomposition increases recall on rare relations by over 20%. Code and dataset are available at https://github.com/KaushikMahmud/CoDe-KG_EMNLP_2025
Machine Unlearning for Responsible and Adaptive AI in Education
Mayeku, Betty, Hummel, Sandra, Memarmoshrefi, Parisa
Machine Unlearning (MU) has emerged as a promising approach to addressing persistent challenges in Machine Learning (ML) systems. By enabling the selective removal of learned data, MU introduces protective, corrective, and adaptive capabilities that are central to advancing Responsible and Adaptive AI. However, despite its growing prominence in other domains, MU remains underexplored within education, a sector uniquely characterized by sensitive learner data, dynamic environments, and the high-stakes implications of algorithmic decision-making. This paper examines the potential of MU as both a mechanism for operationalizing Responsible AI principles and a foundation for Adaptive AI in ML-driven educational systems. Drawing on a structured review of 42 peer-reviewed studies, the paper analyzes key MU mechanisms and technical variants, and how they contribute to the practical realization of Responsible and Adaptive AI. Four core intervention domains where MU demonstrates significant promise are identified: privacy protection, resilience to adversarial or corrupted data, fairness through bias mitigation, and adaptability to evolving contexts. Furthermore, MU interventions are mapped to the technical, ethical, and pedagogical challenges inherent in educational AI. This mapping illustrates the role of MU as a strategic mechanism for enhancing compliance, reinforcing ethical safeguards, and supporting adaptability by ensuring that models remain flexible, maintainable, and contextually relevant over time. As a conceptual contribution, the paper introduces MU4RAAI, a reference architecture integrating MU within Responsible and Adaptive AI frameworks for educational contexts. MU is thus positioned not merely as a data deletion process but as a transformative approach for ensuring that educational AI systems remain ethical, adaptive, and trustworthy.
Multimodal Deep Learning for ATCO Command Lifecycle Modeling and Workload Prediction
-- Air traffic controllers (ATCOs) issue high - intensity voice commands in dense airspace, where accurate workload modeling is critical for safety and efficiency. This paper proposes a multimodal deep learning framework that integrates structured data, trajectory sequences, and image features to estimate two key parameters in the ATCO command lifecycle: the time offset between a command and the resulting aircraft maneuver, and the command duration. A hi gh - quality dataset was constructed, with maneuver points detected using sliding window and histogram - based methods. A CNN - Transformer ensemble model was developed for accurate, generalizable, and interpretable predictions. By linking trajectories to voice commands, this work offers the first model of its kind to support intelligent command generation and provides practical value for workload assessment, staffing, and scheduling. A. Background As global air traffic demand increases, airspace operations have become more complex and congested, presenting major challenges for air traffic control (ATC) systems. Although surveillance and communication technologies have improved, ATC performance still largely depends on human operators, particularly air traffic controllers (ATCOs), who monitor flights, assess conditions, and issue maneuver instructions to ensure safe and efficient operations. This human bottleneck has become a key constraint on ATC efficiency and safety, emphasizing the importance of quantifying task intensity and evaluating workload to support fatigue management, staff scheduling, and the development of in telligent ATC solutions . Early studies on ATCO workload modeling primarily focused on statistical methods and subjective assessments such as NASA Task Load Index (NASA - TLX) [1] .
Where Should I Study? Biased Language Models Decide! Evaluating Fairness in LMs for Academic Recommendations
Shailya, Krithi, Mishra, Akhilesh Kumar, Krishnan, Gokul S, Ravindran, Balaraman
Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly used as daily recommendation systems for tasks like education planning, yet their recommendations risk perpetuating societal biases. This paper empirically examines geographic, demographic, and economic biases in university and program suggestions from three open-source LLMs: LLaMA-3.1-8B, Gemma-7B, and Mistral-7B. Using 360 simulated user profiles varying by gender, nationality, and economic status, we analyze over 25,000 recommendations. Results show strong biases: institutions in the Global North are disproportionately favored, recommendations often reinforce gender stereotypes, and institutional repetition is prevalent. While LLaMA-3.1 achieves the highest diversity, recommending 481 unique universities across 58 countries, systemic disparities persist. To quantify these issues, we propose a novel, multi-dimensional evaluation framework that goes beyond accuracy by measuring demographic and geographic representation. Our findings highlight the urgent need for bias consideration in educational LMs to ensure equitable global access to higher education.
P-DRUM: Post-hoc Descriptor-based Residual Uncertainty Modeling for Machine Learning Potentials
Huang, Shih-Peng, Charoenphakdee, Nontawat, Tsuboi, Yuta, Zhuang, Yong-Bin, Li, Wenwen
Ensemble method is considered the gold standard for uncertainty quantification (UQ) in machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs). However, their high computational cost can limit its practicality. Alternative techniques, such as Monte Carlo dropout and deep kernel learning, have been proposed to improve computational efficiency; however, some of these methods cannot be applied to already trained models and may affect the prediction accuracy. In this paper, we propose a simple and efficient post-hoc framework for UQ that leverages the descriptor of a trained graph neural network potential to estimate residual errors. We refer to this method as post-hoc descriptor-based residual uncertainty modeling (P-DRUM). P-DRUM models the discrepancy between MLIP predictions and ground truth values, allowing these residuals to act as proxies for prediction uncertainty. We explore multiple variants of P-DRUM and benchmark them against established UQ methods, evaluating both their effectiveness and limitations.
X-Troll: eXplainable Detection of State-Sponsored Information Operations Agents
Tian, Lin, Zhang, Xiuzhen, Kim, Maria Myung-Hee, Biggs, Jennifer, Rizoiu, Marian-Andrei
State-sponsored trolls, malicious actors who deploy sophisticated linguistic manipulation in coordinated information campaigns, posing threats to online discourse integrity. While Large Language Models (LLMs) achieve strong performance on general natural language processing (NLP) tasks, they struggle with subtle propaganda detection and operate as ``black boxes'', providing no interpretable insights into manipulation strategies. This paper introduces X-Troll, a novel framework that bridges this gap by integrating explainable adapter-based LLMs with expert-derived linguistic knowledge to detect state-sponsored trolls and provide human-readable explanations for its decisions. X-Troll incorporates appraisal theory and propaganda analysis through specialized LoRA adapters, using dynamic gating to capture campaign-specific discourse patterns in coordinated information operations. Experiments on real-world data demonstrate that our linguistically-informed approach shows strong performance compared with both general LLM baselines and existing troll detection models in accuracy while providing enhanced transparency through expert-grounded explanations that reveal the specific linguistic strategies used by state-sponsored actors. X-Troll source code is available at: https://github.com/ltian678/xtroll_source/.