arXiv:2603.08068v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: While large language models (LLMs) exhibit strong reasoning abilities, their performance on complex tasks is often constrained by the limitations of their internal knowledge. A compelling approach to overcome this challenge is to augment these models with external tools -- such as Python interpreters for mathematical computations or search engines for retrieving factual information. However, enabling models to use these tools effectively remains a significant challenge. Existing methods typically rely on cold-start pipelines that begin with supervised fine-tuning (SFT), followed by reinforcement learning (RL). These approaches often require substantial amounts of labeled data for SFT, which is expensive to annotate or synthesize. In this work, we propose In-Context Reinforcement Learning (ICRL), an RL-only framework that eliminates the need for SFT by leveraging few-shot prompting during the rollout stage of RL. Specifically, ICRL introduces in-context examples within the rollout prompts to teach the model how to invoke external tools. Furthermore, as training progresses, the number of in-context examples is gradually reduced, eventually reaching a zero-shot setting where the model learns to call tools independently. We conduct extensive experiments across a range of reasoning and tool-use benchmarks. Results show that ICRL achieves state-of-the-art performance, demonstrating its effectiveness as a scalable, data-efficient alternative to traditional SFT-based pipelines.

arXiv:2603.07496v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have evolved from passive predictive tools into active entities capable of autonomous decision-making and environmental interaction, driven by the reasoning capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs). However, this evolution has introduced critical security vulnerabilities that existing frameworks fail to address. The Hierarchical Autonomy Evolution (HAE) framework organizes agent security into three tiers: Cognitive Autonomy (L1) targets internal reasoning integrity; Execution Autonomy (L2) covers tool-mediated environmental interaction; Collective Autonomy (L3) addresses systemic risks in multi-agent ecosystems. We present a taxonomy of threats spanning cognitive manipulation, physical environment disruption, and multi-agent systemic failures, and evaluate existing defenses while identifying key research gaps. The findings aim to guide the development of multilayered, autonomy-aware defense architectures for trustworthy AI agent systems.

arXiv:2505.10845v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Machine unlearning is the process of removing the imprint left by specific data samples during the training of a machine learning model. AI developers, including those building personalized technologies, employ machine unlearning for various purposes such as privacy protection, security, and to address ethical concerns. This paper introduces Ready2Unlearn, a learning-time optimization approach designed to facilitate future unlearning processes. Unlike the majority of existing unlearning efforts that focus on designing unlearning algorithms, which are typically implemented reactively when an unlearning request is made during the model deployment phase, Ready2Unlearn shifts the focus to the training phase, adopting a "forward-looking" perspective. Building upon well-established meta-learning principles, Ready2Unlearn proactively trains machine learning models with unlearning readiness, such that they are well prepared and can handle future unlearning requests in a more efficient and principled manner. Ready2Unlearn is model-agnostic and compatible with any gradient ascent-based machine unlearning algorithms. We evaluate the method on both language and vision tasks under various unlearning settings, including class-wise unlearning and random data unlearning. Experimental results show that by incorporating such preparedness at training time, Ready2Unlearn produces an unlearning-ready model state, which offers several key advantages when future unlearning is requested. We hope this study inspires future research on proactive strategies for equipping machine learning models with built-in unlearning readiness, particularly in modern information systems that rely heavily on user data for recommendation, search, and personalized services, where privacy risks and data deletion demands are increasingly prevalent.