Andrea Gaggioli

Giuseppe Riva, Fabrizia Mantovani, Brenda K. Wiederhold et al.

Although LLMs and other artificial intelligence systems demonstrate cognitive skills similar to humans, like concept learning and language acquisition, the way they process information fundamentally differs from biological cognition. To better understand these differences this paper introduces Psychomatics, a multidisciplinary framework bridging cognitive science, linguistics, and computer science. It aims to better understand the high-level functioning of LLMs, focusing specifically on how LLMs acquire, learn, remember, and use information to produce their outputs. To achieve this goal, Psychomatics will rely on a comparative methodology, starting from a theory-driven research question - is the process of language development and use different in humans and LLMs? - drawing parallels between LLMs and biological systems. Our analysis shows how LLMs can map and manipulate complex linguistic patterns in their training data. Moreover, LLMs can follow Grice's Cooperative Principle to provide relevant and informative responses. However, human cognition draws from multiple sources of meaning, including experiential, emotional, and imaginative facets, which transcend mere language processing and are rooted in our social and developmental trajectories. Moreover, current LLMs lack physical embodiment, reducing their ability to make sense of the intricate interplay between perception, action, and cognition that shapes human understanding and expression. Ultimately, Psychomatics holds the potential to yield transformative insights into the nature of language, cognition, and intelligence, both artificial and biological. Moreover, by drawing parallels between LLMs and human cognitive processes, Psychomatics can inform the development of more robust and human-like AI systems.

Lorenzo Stacchio, Andrea Ubaldi, Alessandro Galdelli et al.

We present Empathic Prompting, a novel framework for multimodal human-AI interaction that enriches Large Language Model (LLM) conversations with implicit non-verbal context. The system integrates a commercial facial expression recognition service to capture users' emotional cues and embeds them as contextual signals during prompting. Unlike traditional multimodal interfaces, empathic prompting requires no explicit user control; instead, it unobtrusively augments textual input with affective information for conversational and smoothness alignment. The architecture is modular and scalable, allowing integration of additional non-verbal modules. We describe the system design, implemented through a locally deployed DeepSeek instance, and report a preliminary service and usability evaluation (N=5). Results show consistent integration of non-verbal input into coherent LLM outputs, with participants highlighting conversational fluidity. Beyond this proof of concept, empathic prompting points to applications in chatbot-mediated communication, particularly in domains like healthcare or education, where users' emotional signals are critical yet often opaque in verbal exchanges.

Andrea Gaggioli, Giuseppe Casaburi, Leonardo Ercolani et al.

This study investigates the reliability and validity of five advanced Large Language Models (LLMs), Claude 3.5, DeepSeek v2, Gemini 2.5, GPT-4, and Mistral 24B, for automated essay scoring in a real world higher education context. A total of 67 Italian-language student essays, written as part of a university psychology course, were evaluated using a four-criterion rubric (Pertinence, Coherence, Originality, Feasibility). Each model scored all essays across three prompt replications to assess intra-model stability. Human-LLM agreement was consistently low and non-significant (Quadratic Weighted Kappa), and within-model reliability across replications was similarly weak (median Kendall's W < 0.30). Systematic scoring divergences emerged, including a tendency to inflate Coherence and inconsistent handling of context-dependent dimensions. Inter-model agreement analysis revealed moderate convergence for Coherence and Originality, but negligible concordance for Pertinence and Feasibility. Although limited in scope, these findings suggest that current LLMs may struggle to replicate human judgment in tasks requiring disciplinary insight and contextual sensitivity. Human oversight remains critical when evaluating open-ended academic work, particularly in interpretive domains.

Andrea Gaggioli, Sabrina Bartolotta, Andrea Ubaldi et al.

Artificial Intelligence holds significant potential to enhance human creativity. However, achieving this vision requires a clearer understanding of how such enhancement can be effectively realized. Drawing on a relational and distributed cognition perspective, we identify three fundamental modes by which AI can support and shape creative processes: Support, where AI acts as a tool; Synergy, where AI and humans collaborate in complementary ways; and Symbiosis, where human and AI cognition become so integrated that they form a unified creative system. These modes are defined along two key dimensions: the level of technical autonomy exhibited by the AI system (i.e., its ability to operate independently and make decisions without human intervention), and the degree of perceived agency attributed to it (i.e., the extent to which the AI is experienced as an intentional or creative partner). We examine how each configuration influences different levels of creativity from everyday problem solving to paradigm shifting innovation and discuss the implications for ethics, research, and the design of future human AI creative systems.

Fabrizio Davide, Pietro Torre, Leonardo Ercolani et al.

We tasked 16 state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) with estimating the likelihood of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) emerging by 2030. To assess the quality of these forecasts, we implemented an automated peer review process (LLM-PR). The LLMs' estimates varied widely, ranging from 3% (Reka- Core) to 47.6% (GPT-4o), with a median of 12.5%. These estimates closely align with a recent expert survey that projected a 10% likelihood of AGI by 2027, underscoring the relevance of LLMs in forecasting complex, speculative scenarios. The LLM-PR process demonstrated strong reliability, evidenced by a high Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC = 0.79), reflecting notable consistency in scoring across the models. Among the models, Pplx-70b-online emerged as the top performer, while Gemini-1.5-pro-api ranked the lowest. A cross-comparison with external benchmarks, such as LMSYS Chatbot Arena, revealed that LLM rankings remained consistent across different evaluation methods, suggesting that existing benchmarks may not encapsulate some of the skills relevant for AGI prediction. We further explored the use of weighting schemes based on external benchmarks, optimizing the alignment of LLMs' predictions with human expert forecasts. This analysis led to the development of a new, 'AGI benchmark' designed to highlight performance differences in AGI-related tasks. Our findings offer insights into LLMs' capabilities in speculative, interdisciplinary forecasting tasks and emphasize the growing need for innovative evaluation frameworks for assessing AI performance in complex, uncertain real-world scenarios.