Beyond Monolithic Models: Symbolic Seams for Composable Neuro-Symbolic Architectures

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Schuler, Nicolas, Scotti, Vincenzo, Mirandola, Raffaela
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Schuler, Nicolas
Scotti, Vincenzo
Mirandola, Raffaela
author_facet Schuler, Nicolas
Scotti, Vincenzo
Mirandola, Raffaela
contents Current Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are frequently built around monolithic models that entangle perception, reasoning, and decision-making, a design that often conflicts with established software architecture principles. Large Language Models (LLMs) amplify this tendency, offering scale but limited transparency and adaptability. To address this, we argue for composability as a guiding principle that treats AI as a living architecture rather than a fixed artifact. We introduce symbolic seams: explicit architectural breakpoints where a system commits to inspectable, typed boundary objects, versioned constraint bundles, and decision traces. We describe how seams enable a composable neuro-symbolic design that combines the data-driven adaptability of learned components with the verifiability of explicit symbolic constraints -- combining strengths neither paradigm achieves alone. By treating AI systems as assemblies of interchangeable parts rather than indivisible wholes, we outline a direction for intelligent systems that are extensible, transparent, and amenable to principled evolution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_15087
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Beyond Monolithic Models: Symbolic Seams for Composable Neuro-Symbolic Architectures
Schuler, Nicolas
Scotti, Vincenzo
Mirandola, Raffaela
Software Engineering
Current Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are frequently built around monolithic models that entangle perception, reasoning, and decision-making, a design that often conflicts with established software architecture principles. Large Language Models (LLMs) amplify this tendency, offering scale but limited transparency and adaptability. To address this, we argue for composability as a guiding principle that treats AI as a living architecture rather than a fixed artifact. We introduce symbolic seams: explicit architectural breakpoints where a system commits to inspectable, typed boundary objects, versioned constraint bundles, and decision traces. We describe how seams enable a composable neuro-symbolic design that combines the data-driven adaptability of learned components with the verifiability of explicit symbolic constraints -- combining strengths neither paradigm achieves alone. By treating AI systems as assemblies of interchangeable parts rather than indivisible wholes, we outline a direction for intelligent systems that are extensible, transparent, and amenable to principled evolution.
title Beyond Monolithic Models: Symbolic Seams for Composable Neuro-Symbolic Architectures
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.15087