Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have emerged to tackle the challenges of Visual Question Answering (VQA), sparking a new research focus on conducting objective evaluations of these models. Existing evaluation methods face limitations due to the significant human workload required to design Q&A pairs for visual images, which inherently restricts the scale and scope of evaluations. Although automated MLLM-as-judge approaches attempt to reduce the human workload through automatic evaluations, they often introduce biases. To address these problems, we propose an Unsupervised Peer review MLLM Evaluation framework. It utilizes only image data, allowing models to automatically generate questions and conduct peer review assessments of answers from other models, effectively alleviating the reliance on human workload. Additionally, we introduce the vision-language scoring system to mitigate the bias issues, which focuses on three aspects: (i) response correctness; (ii) visual understanding and reasoning; and (iii) image-text correlation. Experimental results demonstrate that UPME achieves a Pearson correlation of 0.944 with human evaluations on the MMstar dataset and 0.814 on the ScienceQA dataset, indicating that our framework closely aligns with human-designed benchmarks and inherent human preferences.
Instruction tuning is widely used to improve a pre-trained Multimodal Large Language Model (MLLM) by training it on curated task-specific datasets, enabling better comprehension of human instructions. However, it is infeasible to collect all possible instruction datasets simultaneously in real-world scenarios. Thus, enabling MLLM with continual instruction tuning is essential for maintaining their adaptability. However, existing methods often trade off memory efficiency for performance gains, significantly compromising overall efficiency. In this paper, we propose a task-specific expansion and task-general fusion framework based on the variations in Centered Kernel Alignment (CKA) similarity across different model layers when trained on diverse datasets. Furthermore, we analyze the information leakage present in the existing benchmark and propose a new and more challenging benchmark to rationally evaluate the performance of different methods. Comprehensive experiments showcase a significant performance improvement of our method compared to existing state-of-the-art methods. Our code will be public available.
Large language model (LLM) agents need to perform multi-turn interactions in real-world tasks. However, existing multi-turn RL algorithms for optimizing LLM agents fail to perform effective credit assignment over multiple turns while leveraging the generalization capabilities of LLMs and it remains unclear how to develop such algorithms. To study this, we first introduce a new benchmark, ColBench, where an LLM agent interacts with a human collaborator over multiple turns to solve realistic tasks in backend programming and frontend design. Building on this benchmark, we propose a novel RL algorithm, SWEET-RL (RL with Step-WisE Evaluation from Training-time information), that uses a carefully designed optimization objective to train a critic model with access to additional training-time information. The critic provides step-level rewards for improving the policy model. Our experiments demonstrate that SWEET-RL achieves a 6% absolute improvement in success and win rates on ColBench compared to other state-of-the-art multi-turn RL algorithms, enabling Llama-3.1-8B to match or exceed the performance of GPT4-o in realistic collaborative content creation.
The success of Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) critically depends on the quality of the reward model. While this quality is primarily evaluated through accuracy, it remains unclear whether accuracy fully captures what makes a reward model an effective teacher. We address this question from an optimization perspective. First, we prove that regardless of how accurate a reward model is, if it induces low reward variance, then the RLHF objective suffers from a flat landscape. Consequently, even a perfectly accurate reward model can lead to extremely slow optimization, underperforming less accurate models that induce higher reward variance. We additionally show that a reward model that works well for one language model can induce low reward variance, and thus a flat objective landscape, for another. These results establish a fundamental limitation of evaluating reward models solely based on accuracy or independently of the language model they guide. Experiments using models of up to 8B parameters corroborate our theory, demonstrating the interplay between reward variance, accuracy, and reward maximization rate. Overall, our findings highlight that beyond accuracy, a reward model needs to induce sufficient variance for efficient optimization.
Despite significant advancements, the practical deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) is often hampered by their immense sizes, highlighting the need for effective compression techniques. Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is a promising LLM compression technique. However, existing SVD-based compression methods fall short in reducing truncation losses, leading to less competitive performance in compressed models. In this work, we introduce SVD-LLM V2, a SVD-based LLM compression method that optimizes singular value truncation in SVD compression with two techniques. First, SVD-LLM V2 proposes to use theoretical truncation loss of weight matrices to assign a unique compression ratio to each weight matrix at different layers to accommodate weight redundancy heterogeneity. Second, SVD-LLM V2 proposes loss-optimized weight truncation to ensure that the truncated singular values result in a lower and more stable truncation loss in practice. We evaluate SVD-LLM V2 on ten datasets and five LLMs at various scales. Our results show SVD-LLM V2 outperforms state-of-the-art SVD-based LLM compression methods. Our code is available at https://github.com/AIoT-MLSys-Lab/SVD-LLM
Generalized few-shot 3D point cloud segmentation (GFS-PCS) adapts models to new classes with few support samples while retaining base class segmentation. Existing GFS-PCS methods enhance prototypes via interacting with support or query features but remain limited by sparse knowledge from few-shot samples. Meanwhile, 3D vision-language models (3D VLMs), generalizing across open-world novel classes, contain rich but noisy novel class knowledge. In this work, we introduce a GFS-PCS framework that synergizes dense but noisy pseudo-labels from 3D VLMs with precise yet sparse few-shot samples to maximize the strengths of both, named GFS-VL. Specifically, we present a prototype-guided pseudo-label selection to filter low-quality regions, followed by an adaptive infilling strategy that combines knowledge from pseudo-label contexts and few-shot samples to adaptively label the filtered, unlabeled areas. Additionally, we design a novel-base mix strategy to embed few-shot samples into training scenes, preserving essential context for improved novel class learning. Moreover, recognizing the limited diversity in current GFS-PCS benchmarks, we introduce two challenging benchmarks with diverse novel classes for comprehensive generalization evaluation. Experiments validate the effectiveness of our framework across models and datasets. Our approach and benchmarks provide a solid foundation for advancing GFS-PCS in the real world. The code is at https://github.com/ZhaochongAn/GFS-VL
Autoregressive models have shown remarkable success in image generation by adapting sequential prediction techniques from language modeling. However, applying these approaches to images requires discretizing continuous pixel data through vector quantization methods like VQ-VAE. To alleviate the quantization errors that existed in VQ-VAE, recent works tend to use larger codebooks. However, this will accordingly expand vocabulary size, complicating the autoregressive modeling task. This paper aims to find a way to enjoy the benefits of large codebooks without making autoregressive modeling more difficult. Through empirical investigation, we discover that tokens with similar codeword representations produce similar effects on the final generated image, revealing significant redundancy in large codebooks. Based on this insight, we propose to predict tokens from coarse to fine (CTF), realized by assigning the same coarse label for similar tokens. Our framework consists of two stages: (1) an autoregressive model that sequentially predicts coarse labels for each token in the sequence, and (2) an auxiliary model that simultaneously predicts fine-grained labels for all tokens conditioned on their coarse labels. Experiments on ImageNet demonstrate our method's superior performance, achieving an average improvement of 59 points in Inception Score compared to baselines. Notably, despite adding an inference step, our approach achieves faster sampling speeds.
Recently, large language models (LLMs) and vision-language models (VLMs) have achieved significant success, demonstrating remarkable capabilities in understanding various images and videos, particularly in classification and detection tasks. However, due to the substantial differences between remote sensing images and conventional optical images, these models face considerable challenges in comprehension, especially in detection tasks. Directly prompting VLMs with detection instructions often leads to unsatisfactory results. To address this issue, this letter explores the application of VLMs for object detection in remote sensing images. Specifically, we constructed supervised fine-tuning (SFT) datasets using publicly available remote sensing object detection datasets, including SSDD, HRSID, and NWPU-VHR-10. In these new datasets, we converted annotation information into JSON-compliant natural language descriptions, facilitating more effective understanding and training for the VLM. We then evaluate the detection performance of various fine-tuning strategies for VLMs and derive optimized model weights for object detection in remote sensing images. Finally, we evaluate the model's prior knowledge capabilities using natural language queries. Experimental results demonstrate that, without modifying the model architecture, remote sensing object detection can be effectively achieved using natural language alone. Additionally, the model exhibits the ability to perform certain vision question answering (VQA) tasks. Our datasets and related code will be released soon.
Large Language Models (LLMs) have revolutionized natural language processing through their state of art reasoning capabilities. This paper explores the convergence of LLM reasoning techniques and feature generation for machine learning tasks. We examine four key reasoning approaches: Chain of Thought, Tree of Thoughts, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, and Thought Space Exploration. Our analysis reveals how these approaches can be used to identify effective feature generation rules without having to manually specify search spaces. The paper categorizes LLM-based feature generation methods across various domains including finance, healthcare, and text analytics. LLMs can extract key information from clinical notes and radiology reports in healthcare, by enabling more efficient data utilization. In finance, LLMs facilitate text generation, summarization, and entity extraction from complex documents. We analyze evaluation methodologies for assessing feature quality and downstream performance, with particular attention to OCTree's decision tree reasoning approach that provides language-based feedback for iterative improvements. Current challenges include hallucination, computational efficiency, and domain adaptation. As of March 2025, emerging approaches include inference-time compute scaling, reinforcement learning, and supervised fine-tuning with model distillation. Future directions point toward multimodal feature generation, self-improving systems, and neuro-symbolic approaches. This paper provides a detailed overview of an emerging field that promises to automate and enhance feature engineering through language model reasoning.
Choropleth maps, which utilize color schemes to visualize spatial patterns and trends, are simple yet effective tools for geographic data analysis. As such, color scheme design is a critical aspect of choropleth map creation. The traditional coloring methods offered by GIS tools such as ArcGIS and QGIS are not user-friendly for non-professionals. On the one hand, these tools provide numerous color schemes, making it hard to decide which one best matches the theme. On the other hand, it is difficult to fulfill some ambiguous and personalized coloring needs of users, such as requests for 'summer-like' map colors. To address these shortcomings, we develop a novel system that leverages a large language model and map color design principles to generate contextually relevant and user-aligned choropleth map color schemes. The system follows a three-stage process: Data processing, which provides an overview of the data and classifies the data into meaningful classes; Color Concept Design, where the color theme and color mode are conceptualized based on data characteristics and user intentions; and Color Scheme Design, where specific colors are assigned to classes based on generated color theme, color mode, and user requirements. Our system incorporates an interactive interface, providing necessary visualization for choropleth map color design and allowing users to customize and refine color choices flexibly. Through user studies and evaluations, the system demonstrates acceptable usability, accuracy, and flexibility, with users highlighting the tool's efficiency and ease of use.
Language models (LMs) have exhibited exceptional versatility in reasoning and in-depth financial analysis through their proprietary information processing capabilities. Previous research focused on evaluating classification performance while often overlooking explainability or pre-conceived that refined explanation corresponds to higher classification accuracy. Using a public dataset in finance domain, we quantitatively evaluated self-explanations by LMs, focusing on their factuality and causality. We identified the statistically significant relationship between the accuracy of classifications and the factuality or causality of self-explanations. Our study built an empirical foundation for approximating classification confidence through self-explanations and for optimizing classification via proprietary reasoning.
In large language model (LLM) reasoning, multi-step processes have proven effective for solving complex tasks. However, the depth of exploration can significantly affect the reasoning performance. Existing methods to automatically decide the depth often bring high costs and lack flexibility, and thus undermine the model's reasoning accuracy. To address these issues, we propose Entropy-based Exploration Depth Conduction (Entro-duction), a novel method that dynamically adjusts the exploration depth during multi-step reasoning by monitoring LLM's output entropy and variance entropy. We employ these two metrics to capture the model's current uncertainty and the fluctuation of uncertainty across consecutive reasoning steps. Based on the observed changes, the LLM selects whether to deepen, expand or stop exploration according to the probability. In this way, we balance the reasoning accuracy and exploration effectiveness. Experimental results across four benchmark datasets demonstrate the efficacy of Entro-duction. We further conduct experiments and analysis on the components of Entro-duction to discuss their contributions to reasoning performance.
In the field of video-language pretraining, existing models face numerous challenges in terms of inference efficiency and multimodal data processing. This paper proposes a KunLunBaize-VoT-R1 video inference model based on a long-sequence image encoder, along with its training and application methods. By integrating image packing technology, the Autonomy-of-Experts (AoE) architecture, and combining the video of Thought (VoT), a large language model (LLM) trained with large-scale reinforcement learning, and multiple training techniques, the efficiency and accuracy of the model in video inference tasks are effectively improved. Experiments show that this model performs outstandingly in multiple tests, providing a new solution for video-language understanding.
AI presents a novel tool for deciphering the motivations behind human behaviors. By varying prompts to a large language model, we can elicit the full range of human behaviors in a variety of different scenarios in classic economic games. By analyzing which prompts elicit which behaviors, we infer (decipher) the motivations behind the human behaviors. We also show how one can analyze the prompts to reveal relationships between the classic economic games, providing insight into what different economic scenarios induce people to think about. We also show how this deciphering process can be used to understand differences in the behavioral tendencies of different populations. We show how AI offers a new way to examine the thinking and framing that produce different behaviors.
This paper introduces PersonaAI, a cutting-edge application that leverages Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and the LLAMA model to create highly personalized digital avatars capable of accurately mimicking individual personalities. Designed as a cloud-based mobile application, PersonaAI captures user data seamlessly, storing it in a secure database for retrieval and analysis. The result is a system that provides context-aware, accurate responses to user queries, enhancing the potential of AI-driven personalization. Why should you care? PersonaAI combines the scalability of RAG with the efficiency of prompt-engineered LLAMA3, offering a lightweight, sustainable alternative to traditional large language model (LLM) training methods. The system's novel approach to data collection, utilizing real-time user interactions via a mobile app, ensures enhanced context relevance while maintaining user privacy. By open-sourcing our implementation, we aim to foster adaptability and community-driven development. PersonaAI demonstrates how AI can transform interactions by merging efficiency, scalability, and personalization, making it a significant step forward in the future of digital avatars and personalized AI.
Natural language processing (NLP) has significantly influenced scientific domains beyond human language, including protein engineering, where pre-trained protein language models (PLMs) have demonstrated remarkable success. However, interdisciplinary adoption remains limited due to challenges in data collection, task benchmarking, and application. This work presents VenusFactory, a versatile engine that integrates biological data retrieval, standardized task benchmarking, and modular fine-tuning of PLMs. VenusFactory supports both computer science and biology communities with choices of both a command-line execution and a Gradio-based no-code interface, integrating $40+$ protein-related datasets and $40+$ popular PLMs. All implementations are open-sourced on https://github.com/tyang816/VenusFactory.
This article presents a general and flexible method for prompting a large language model (LLM) to reveal its (hidden) token input embedding up to homeomorphism. Moreover, this article provides strong theoretical justification -- a mathematical proof for generic LLMs -- for why this method should be expected to work. With this method in hand, we demonstrate its effectiveness by recovering the token subspace of Llemma-7B. The results of this paper apply not only to LLMs but also to general nonlinear autoregressive processes.
Automatic non-cooperative analysis of intercepted radar signals is essential for intelligent equipment in both military and civilian domains. Accurate modulation identification and parameter estimation enable effective signal classification, threat assessment, and the development of countermeasures. In this paper, we propose a symbolic approach for radar signal recognition and parameter estimation based on a vision-language model that combines context-free grammar with time-frequency representation of radar waveforms. The proposed model, called Sig2text, leverages the power of vision transformers for time-frequency feature extraction and transformer-based decoders for symbolic parsing of radar waveforms. By treating radar signal recognition as a parsing problem, Sig2text can effectively recognize and parse radar waveforms with different modulation types and parameters. We evaluate the performance of Sig2text on a synthetic radar signal dataset and demonstrate its effectiveness in recognizing and parsing radar waveforms with varying modulation types and parameters. The training code of the model is available at https://github.com/Na-choneko/sig2text.
With the recent advancements in deep learning, semantic communication which transmits only task-oriented features, has rapidly emerged. However, since feature extraction relies on learning-based models, its performance fundamentally depends on the training dataset or tasks. For practical scenarios, it is essential to design a model that demonstrates robust performance regardless of dataset or tasks. In this correspondence, we propose a novel text transmission model that selects and transmits only a few characters and recovers the missing characters at the receiver using a large language model (LLM). Additionally, we propose a novel importance character extractor (ICE), which selects transmitted characters to enhance LLM recovery performance. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed filter selection by ICE outperforms random filter selection, which selects transmitted characters randomly. Moreover, the proposed model exhibits robust performance across different datasets and tasks and outperforms traditional bit-based communication in low signal-to-noise ratio conditions.
Vision-guided speech generation aims to produce authentic speech from facial appearance or lip motions without relying on auditory signals, offering significant potential for applications such as dubbing in filmmaking and assisting individuals with aphonia. Despite recent progress, existing methods struggle to achieve unified cross-modal alignment across semantics, timbre, and emotional prosody from visual cues, prompting us to propose Consistent Video-to-Speech (CV2S) as an extended task to enhance cross-modal consistency. To tackle emerging challenges, we introduce ImaginTalk, a novel cross-modal diffusion framework that generates faithful speech using only visual input, operating within a discrete space. Specifically, we propose a discrete lip aligner that predicts discrete speech tokens from lip videos to capture semantic information, while an error detector identifies misaligned tokens, which are subsequently refined through masked language modeling with BERT. To further enhance the expressiveness of the generated speech, we develop a style diffusion transformer equipped with a face-style adapter that adaptively customizes identity and prosody dynamics across both the channel and temporal dimensions while ensuring synchronization with lip-aware semantic features. Extensive experiments demonstrate that ImaginTalk can generate high-fidelity speech with more accurate semantic details and greater expressiveness in timbre and emotion compared to state-of-the-art baselines. Demos are shown at our project page: https://imagintalk.github.io.