StackingNet: Collective Inference Across Independent AI Foundation Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Li, Siyang, Liu, Chenhao, Wu, Dongrui, Zeng, Zhigang, Ding, Lieyun
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Li, Siyang
Liu, Chenhao
Wu, Dongrui
Zeng, Zhigang
Ding, Lieyun
author_facet Li, Siyang
Liu, Chenhao
Wu, Dongrui
Zeng, Zhigang
Ding, Lieyun
contents Artificial intelligence built on large foundation models has transformed language understanding, vision and reasoning, yet these systems remain isolated and cannot readily share their capabilities. Integrating the complementary strengths of such independent foundation models is essential for building trustworthy intelligent systems. Despite rapid progress in individual model design, there is no established approach for coordinating such black-box heterogeneous models. Here we show that coordination can be achieved through a meta-ensemble framework termed StackingNet, which draws on principles of collective intelligence to combine model predictions during inference. StackingNet improves accuracy, reduces bias, enables reliability ranking, and identifies or prunes models that degrade performance, all operating without access to internal parameters or training data. Across tasks involving language comprehension, visual estimation, and academic paper rating, StackingNet consistently improves accuracy, robustness, and fairness, compared with individual models and classic ensembles. By turning diversity from a source of inconsistency into collaboration, StackingNet establishes a practical foundation for coordinated artificial intelligence, suggesting that progress may emerge from not only larger single models but also principled cooperation among many specialized ones.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_13792
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle StackingNet: Collective Inference Across Independent AI Foundation Models
Li, Siyang
Liu, Chenhao
Wu, Dongrui
Zeng, Zhigang
Ding, Lieyun
Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
Artificial intelligence built on large foundation models has transformed language understanding, vision and reasoning, yet these systems remain isolated and cannot readily share their capabilities. Integrating the complementary strengths of such independent foundation models is essential for building trustworthy intelligent systems. Despite rapid progress in individual model design, there is no established approach for coordinating such black-box heterogeneous models. Here we show that coordination can be achieved through a meta-ensemble framework termed StackingNet, which draws on principles of collective intelligence to combine model predictions during inference. StackingNet improves accuracy, reduces bias, enables reliability ranking, and identifies or prunes models that degrade performance, all operating without access to internal parameters or training data. Across tasks involving language comprehension, visual estimation, and academic paper rating, StackingNet consistently improves accuracy, robustness, and fairness, compared with individual models and classic ensembles. By turning diversity from a source of inconsistency into collaboration, StackingNet establishes a practical foundation for coordinated artificial intelligence, suggesting that progress may emerge from not only larger single models but also principled cooperation among many specialized ones.
title StackingNet: Collective Inference Across Independent AI Foundation Models
topic Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.13792