GenAI4ELab/papercli-papers huggingface dataset:
GEM: Generative Entropy-Guided Preference Modeling for Few-Shot Alignment of LLMs
Authors: Yiyang Zhao; Huiyu Bai; Xuejiao Zhao
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Alignment of large language models (LLMs) with human preferences typically relies on supervised reward models or external judges that demand abundant annotations. However, in fields that rely on professional knowledge, such as medicine and law, such large-scale preference labels are often unachievable. In this paper, we propose a generative entropy-guided preference modeling approach named GEM for LLMs aligment at low-resource and domain-specific scenarios. Instead of training a discriminative reward model on preference data, we directly train the LLM to internalize a closed-loop optimization architecture that can extract and exploit the multi-dimensional, fine-grained cognitive signals implicit in human preferences. Specifically, our \textit{Cognitive Filtering} module, based on entropy theory in decision making, first leverages Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting to generate diverse candidate reasoning chains (CoTs) from preference data. Subsequently, it introduces a token scoring mechanism to rank and weight the sampled CoTs, boosting the importance of high-confidence answers and strategically high-entropy tokens. Building on these filtered preferences, we fine-tune the LLM using a novel self-evaluated group advantage algorithm, \textit{SEGA}, which effectively aggregates group-level cognitive signals and transforms the entropy-based scores into implicit rewards for policy optimization. In these ways, GEM empowers the LLM to rely on its own judgments and establishes an entropy-guided closed-loop cognitive optimization framework, enabling highly efficient few-shot alignment of LLMs. Experiments on general benchmarks and domain-specific tasks (such as mathematical reasoning and medical dialogues) demonstrate that our GEM achieves significant improvements with few-shot preference data.
Explainable Melanoma Diagnosis with Contrastive Learning and LLM-based Report Generation
Authors: Junwen Zheng; Xinran Xu; Li Rong Wang; Chang Cai; Lucinda Siyun Tan; Dingyuan Wang; Hong Liang Tey; Xiuyi Fan
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Deep learning has demonstrated expert-level performance in melanoma classification, positioning it as a powerful tool in clinical dermatology. However, model opacity and the lack of interpretability remain critical barriers to clinical adoption, as clinicians often struggle to trust the decision-making processes of black-box models. To address this gap, we present a Cross-modal Explainable Framework for Melanoma (CEFM) that leverages contrastive learning as the core mechanism for achieving interpretability. Specifically, CEFM maps clinical criteria for melanoma diagnosis—namely Asymmetry, Border, and Color (ABC)—into the Vision Transformer embedding space using dual projection heads, thereby aligning clinical semantics with visual features. The aligned representations are subsequently translated into structured textual explanations via natural language generation, creating a transparent link between raw image data and clinical interpretation. Experiments on public datasets demonstrate 92.79% accuracy and an AUC of 0.961, along with significant improvements across multiple interpretability metrics. Qualitative analyses further show that the spatial arrangement of the learned embeddings aligns with clinicians’ application of the ABC rule, effectively bridging the gap between high-performance classification and clinical trust.
Can LLMs Detect Their Confabulations? Estimating Reliability in Uncertainty-Aware Language Models
Authors: Tianyi Zhou; Johanne Medina; Sanjay Chawla
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) are prone to generating fluent but incorrect content, known as confabulation, which poses increasing risks in multi-turn or agentic applications where outputs may be reused as context. In this work, we investigate how in-context information influences model behavior and whether LLMs can identify their unreliable responses. We propose a reliability estimation that leverages token-level uncertainty to guide the aggregation of internal model representations. Specifically, we compute aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty from output logits to identify salient tokens and aggregate their hidden states into compact representations for response-level reliability prediction. Through controlled experiments on open QA benchmarks, we find that correct in-context information improves both answer accuracy and model confidence, while misleading context often induces confidently incorrect responses, revealing a misalignment between uncertainty and correctness. Our probing-based method captures these shifts in model behavior and improves the detection of unreliable outputs across multiple open-source LLMs. These results underscore the limitations of direct uncertainty signals and highlight the potential of uncertainty-guided probing for reliability-aware generation.
Not All Tokens Are Meant to Be Forgotten
Authors: Xiangyu Zhou; Yao Qiang; Saleh Zare Zade; Douglas Zytko; Prashant Khanduri; Dongxiao Zhu
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs), pre-trained on massive text corpora, exhibit remarkable human-level language understanding, reasoning, and decision-making abilities. However, they tend to memorize unwanted information, such as private or copyrighted content, raising significant privacy and legal concerns. Unlearning has emerged as a promising solution, but existing methods face a significant challenge of over-forgetting. This issue arises because they indiscriminately suppress the generation of all the tokens in forget samples, leading to a substantial loss of model utility. To overcome this challenge, we introduce the Targeted Information Forgetting (TIF) framework, which consists of (1) a flexible targeted information identifier designed to differentiate between unwanted words (UW) and general words (GW) in the forget samples, and (2) a novel Targeted Preference Optimization approach that leverages Logit Preference Loss to unlearn unwanted information associated with UW and Preservation Loss to retain general information in GW, effectively improving the unlearning process while mitigating utility degradation. Extensive experiments on the TOFU and MUSE benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed TIF framework enhances unlearning effectiveness while preserving model utility and achieving state-of-the-art results.
Bi-Level Contextual Bandits for Individualized Resource Allocation Under Delayed Feedback
Authors: Mohammadsina Almasi; Hadis Anahideh
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Equitably allocating limited resources in high-stakes domains—such as education, employment, and healthcare—requires balancing short-term utility with long-term impact, while accounting for delayed outcomes, hidden heterogeneity, and ethical constraints. However, most learning-based allocation frameworks either assume immediate feedback or ignore the complex interplay between individual characteristics and intervention dynamics. We propose a novel bi-level contextual bandit framework for individualized resource allocation under delayed feedback, designed to operate in real-world settings with dynamic populations, capacity constraints, and time-sensitive impact. At the meta level, the model optimizes subgroup-level budget allocations to satisfy fairness and operational constraints. At the base level, it identifies the most responsive individuals within each group using a neural network trained on observational data, while respecting cooldown windows and delayed treatment effects modeled via resource-specific delay kernels. By explicitly modeling temporal dynamics and feedback delays, the algorithm continually refines its policy as new data arrive, enabling more responsive and adaptive decision-making. We validate our approach on two real-world datasets from education and workforce development, showing that it achieves higher cumulative outcomes, better adapts to delay structures, and ensures equitable distribution across subgroups. Our results highlight the potential of delay-aware, data-driven decision-making systems to improve institutional policy and social welfare.
Urban Incident Prediction with Graph Neural Networks: Integrating Government Ratings and Crowdsourced Reports
Authors: Sidhika Balachandar; Shuvom Sadhuka; Bonnie Berger; Emma Pierson; Nikhil Garg
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Graph neural networks (GNNs) are widely used in urban spatiotemporal forecasting, e.g., predicting infrastructure problems. In this setting, government officials aim to identify in which neighborhoods incidents like potholes or rodents occur. The true state of incidents is observed via government inspection ratings. However, these ratings are only conducted for a sparse set of neighborhoods and incident types. We also observe the state of incidents via crowdsourced reports, which are more densely observed but may be biased due to heterogeneous reporting. First, we propose a multiview, multioutput GNN-based model that uses both unbiased rating data and biased reporting data to predict the true latent state of incidents. Second, we investigate a case study of New York City urban incidents and collect a dataset of 9,615,863 crowdsourced reports and 1,041,415 government inspection ratings over 3 years and across 139 types of incidents. We show on both real and semi-synthetic data that our model can better predict the latent state compared to models that use only reporting data or only rating data. Finally, we quantify demographic biases in crowdsourced reporting, e.g., higher-income neighborhoods report problems at higher rates. Our analysis showcases a widely applicable approach for latent state prediction using heterogeneous, sparse, and biased data.
Harnessing Diffusion-Generated Synthetic Images for Fair Image Classification
Authors: Abhipsa Basu; Aviral Gupta; Abhijnya Bhat; Venkatesh Babu Radhakrishnan
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Image classification systems often inherit biases from uneven group representation in training data. For example, in face datasets for hair color classification, blond hair may be disproportionately associated with females, reinforcing stereotypes. A recent approach leverages the Stable Diffusion model to generate balanced training data, but these models often struggle to preserve the original data distribution. In this work, we explore multiple diffusion-finetuning techniques, e.g., LoRA and DreamBooth, to generate images that more accurately represent each training group by learning directly from their samples. Additionally, in order to prevent a single DreamBooth model from being overwhelmed by excessive intra-group variations, we explore a technique of clustering images within each group and train a DreamBooth model per cluster. These models are then used to generate group-balanced data for pretraining, followed by fine-tuning on real data. Experiments on multiple benchmarks demonstrate that the studied finetuning approaches outperform vanilla Stable Diffusion on average and achieve results comparable to SOTA debiasing techniques like Group-DRO, while surpassing them as the dataset bias severity increases.
Bootstrapping Personalized Insulin Therapy via Model-Based Reinforcement Learning: An In Silico Study
Authors: Sumana Basu; Flemming Kondrup; Adriana Romero-Soriano; Doina Precup
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Personalized insulin therapy for individuals with Type 1 Diabetes via closed‑loop artificial pancreas systems requires rapid adaptation of dosing strategies to each patient's unique insulin response. However, learning patient‑specific policies from scratch demands extensive exploration, which is often impractical. In this work, we study a framework that integrates insulin-response-informed transfer learning with model-based reinforcement learning for insulin dosing. We first train an LSTM‑based insulin responsiveness predictor on virtual patients, using their glucose, insulin, and meal history to forecast future glucose levels. Analysis of insulin responsiveness of in-silico patients uncovers natural insulin‑response groups characterized by similar sensitivity and dynamics profiles. For a new patient, we identify a representative model from their response group and use it to generate synthetic trajectories. These trajectories are integrated into an enhanced H-step Deep Dyna-Q algorithm, enabling accelerated policy optimization through model-based planning. The dynamics model trained entirely in simulation achieves 91.31% accuracy in predicting blood glucose ranges on the Ohio Type 1 Diabetes dataset, indicating strong zero-shot generalization. Additionally, we find that bootstrapping a new patient with a physiologically-matched reference model accelerates convergence of effective dosing policies across in-silico cohorts of children, adolescents, and adults. These findings suggest that leveraging response-group-specific synthetic experience can expedite personalized insulin therapy, offering a promising pathway towards clinical validation.
An External Fairness Evaluation of LinkedIn Talent Search
Authors: Tina Behzad; Siddartha Devic; Vatsal Sharan; Aleksandra Korolova; David Kempe
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: We conduct an independent, third-party audit for bias of LinkedIn's Talent Search ranking system, focusing on potential ranking bias across two attributes: gender and race. 
To do so, we first construct a dataset of rankings produced by the system, collecting extensive Talent Search results across a diverse set of occupational queries. We then develop a robust labeling pipeline that infers the two demographic attributes of interest for the returned users.
To evaluate potential biases in the collected dataset of real-world rankings, we utilize two exposure disparity metrics: deviation from group proportions and MinSkew@k. 
Our analysis reveals an under-representation of minority groups in early ranks across many queries.
We further examine potential causes of this disparity, and discuss why they may be difficult or, in some cases, impossible to fully eliminate among the early ranks of queries. 
Beyond static metrics, we also investigate the concept of subgroup fairness over time, highlighting \emph{temporal disparities} in exposure and retention, which are often more difficult to audit for in practice.
In employer recruiting platforms such as LinkedIn Talent Search, the persistence of a particular candidate over multiple days in the ranking can directly impact the probability that the given candidate is selected for opportunities. Our analysis reveals demographic disparities in this temporal stability, with some groups experiencing greater volatility in their ranked positions than others.
We contextualize all our findings alongside LinkedIn’s published self-audits of its Talent Search system and reflect on the methodological constraints of a black-box external evaluation, including limited observability and noisy demographic inference. 
Our work contributes empirical insights and practical guidance for conducting third-party audits of modern socio-technical systems which go beyond the well-studied and standard algorithmic fairness guarantees of predictors.
Mapping on a Budget: Optimizing Spatial Data Collection for ML
Authors: Livia Betti; Farooq Sanni; Gnouyaro Z. Sogoyou; Togbe Agbagla; Cullen Molitor; Tamma Carleton; Esther Rolf
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: In applications across agriculture, ecology, and human development, machine learning with satellite imagery (SatML) is limited by the sparsity of labeled training data. While satellite data cover the globe, labeled training datasets for SatML are often small, spatially clustered, and collected for other purposes (e.g., administrative surveys or field measurements). Despite the pervasiveness of this issue in practice, past SatML research has largely focused on new model architectures and training algorithms to handle scarce training data, rather than modeling data conditions directly. This leaves scientists and policymakers who wish to use SatML for large-scale monitoring uncertain about whether and how to collect additional data to maximize performance. Here, we present the first problem formulation for the optimization of spatial training data in the presence of heterogeneous data collection costs and realistic budget constraints, as well as novel methods for addressing this problem. In experiments simulating different problem settings across three continents and four tasks, our strategies reveal substantial gains from sample optimization. Further experiments delineate settings for which optimized sampling is particularly effective. The problem formulation and methods we introduce are designed to generalize across application domains for SatML; we put special emphasis on a specific problem setting where our coauthors can immediately use our findings to augment clustered agricultural surveys for SatML monitoring in Togo.
Self-Regulating Cars: Automating Traffic Control in Free Flow Road Networks
Authors: Ankit Bhardwaj; Rohail Asim; Sachin Kumar Chauhan; Yasir Zaki; Lakshmi Subramanian
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Free-flow road networks, such as suburban highways, are increasingly experiencing traffic congestion due to growing commuter inflow and limited infrastructure. Traditional control mechanisms—traffic signals or local heuristics—are ineffective or infeasible in these high-speed, signal-free environments. We introduce self-regulating cars, a reinforcement learning-based traffic control protocol that dynamically modulates vehicle speeds to optimize throughput and prevent congestion, without requiring new physical infrastructure. Our approach integrates classical traffic flow theory, gap acceptance models, and microscopic simulation into a physics-informed RL framework. By abstracting roads into super-segments, the agent captures emergent flow dynamics and learns robust speed modulation policies from instantaneous traffic observations. Evaluated in the high-fidelity PTV Vissim simulator on a real-world highway network, our method improves total throughput by 5%, reduces average delay by 13%, and decreases total stops by 3% compared to the no-control setting. It also achieves smoother, congestion-resistant flow while generalizing across varied traffic patterns—demonstrating its potential for scalable, ML-driven traffic management.
On the Feasibility of Using MultiModal LLMs to Execute AR Social Engineering Attacks
Authors: Ting Bi; Chenghang Ye; Zheyu Yang; Ziyi Zhou; Cui Tang; Zui Tao; Jun Zhang; Kailong Wang; Liting Zhou; Yang Yang; Tianlong Yu
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Augmented Reality (AR) and Multimodal Large Language Models (LLMs) are rapidly evolving, providing unprecedented capabilities for human-computer interaction. However, their integration introduces a new attack surface for Social Engineering (SE). In this paper, we systematically investigate the feasibility of orchestrating AR-driven Social Engineering attacks using Multimodal LLM for the first time, via our proposed SEAR framework, which operates through three key phases: (1) AR-based social context synthesis, which fuses Multimodal inputs (visual, auditory and environmental cues); (2) role-based Multimodal RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), which dynamically retrieves and integrates social context; and (3) ReInteract social engineering agents, which execute adaptive multiphase attack strategies through inference interaction loops. To verify SEAR, we conducted an IRB-approved study with 60 participants and build a novel dataset of 180 annotated conversations in different social scenarios (e.g., coffee shops, networking events). Our results show that SEAR is highly effective at eliciting high-risk behaviors (e.g., 93.3% of participants susceptible to email phishing).
The framework was particularly effective in building trust, with 85% of targets willing to accept an attacker's call after an interaction.  Also, we identified notable limitations such as authenticity gaps.
This work provides proof-of-concept for AR-LLM driven social engineering attacks and insights for developing defenses against next-generation AR/LLM-based SE threats.
Can LLMs Identify Tax Abuse?
Authors: Andrew Blair-Stanek; Nils Holzenberger; Benjamin Van Durme
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: We investigate whether large language models can discover and analyze U.S. tax-minimization strategies. This real-world domain challenges even seasoned human experts, and progress can reduce tax revenue lost from well-advised, wealthy taxpayers. We evaluate the most advanced LLMs on their ability to (1) interpret and verify tax strategies, (2) fill in gaps in partially specified strategies, and (3) generate complete, end-to-end strategies from scratch. This domain should be of particular interest to the LLM reasoning community: unlike synthetic challenge problems or scientific reasoning tasks, U.S. tax law involves navigating hundreds of thousands of pages of statutes, case law, and administrative guidance, all updated regularly. Notably, an LLM identified an apparently novel tax strategy, highlighting these models' potential to revolutionize tax agencies' fight against tax abuse.
A Theoretical Model for Grit in Pursuing Ambitious Ends
Authors: Avrim Blum; Emily Diana; Kavya Ravichandran; Alexander Williams Tolbert
Venue: AAAI 2026 (main)

Abstract: Ambition and risk-taking have been heralded as important ways for marginalized communities to get out of cycles of poverty. As a result, educational messaging often encourages individuals to strengthen their personal resolve and develop characteristics such as discipline and grit to succeed in ambitious ends. However, recent work in philosophy and sociology highlights that this messaging often does more harm than good for students in these situations. We study similar questions using a different epistemic approach and in simple theoretical models -- we provide a quantitative model of decision-making between stable and risky choices in the improving multi-armed bandits framework. We use this model to first study how individuals' "strategies" are affected by their level of grittiness and how this affects their accrued rewards. Then, we study the impact of various interventions, such as increasing grit or providing a financial safety net. Our investigation of rational decision making studies the competitive ratio between the accrued reward and the optimal reward.