arXiv subjects

Sicheng Song

Publications and source records attributed to Sicheng Song.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

VizAnchor: Decoding Manipulation Intent from Tampering Visualizations via Dual-Anchor Reasoning

Data visualizations are widely used for communicating information, but they are also vulnerable to intentional manipulations that induce misleading interpretations. Existing methods focus on locating tampered regions or recovering hidden information, without explaining how the visualization has been manipulated or why the resulting changes may mislead viewers. We propose \textbf{VizAnchor}, a framework for visualization manipulation understanding through dual-anchor evidence construction and VLM-based reasoning. In the first stage, VizAnchor constructs a semantic anchor to recover authentic chart information and a spatial anchor to localize tampered regions. In the second stage, three specialized agents decode the manipulation. The misleader grounding agent analyzes a four-panel visual prompt to predict the misleader information. The chart narrative reconstruction agent takes the original and tampered charts as inputs and reconstructs their respective visual narratives. Finally, the intent inferring agent integrates the visual evidence and misleader information to infer the misleading intent. We further construct a dataset for tampering localization and a dataset for misleading intent inferring. Evaluation shows that VizAnchor accurately localizes manipulations and produces faithful explanations of their manipulation, misleaders, and misleading intents.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2026

Are LLMs Ready for Scientific Discovery? A Capability-Oriented Benchmark for AI Scientists

Existing benchmarks for scientific data analysis evaluate LLMs primarily on code execution or workflow completion, overlooking that scientific analysis serves to support distinct types of scientific claims: hypothesis exploration, statistical inference, mechanistic explanation, each with different assumptions and validity criteria. We introduce SDABench, a benchmark that reorganizes evaluation around six capabilities (descriptive, exploratory, inferential, predictive, causal, and mechanistic) across five domains (Biology, Chemistry, Environment, Geography, Physics). SDABench comprises 527 real-data instances (SDA-Real) and 6000 synthetic instances (SDA-Synth), each in both multiple-choice and open-ended formats, constructed through an automated pipeline. Evaluating 15 representative LLMs, we find that models handle descriptive analysis well but degrade sharply on tasks requiring assumption selection, latent-process modeling, or mechanistic reasoning. SDABench further provides a five-stage error analysis framework that locates where LLMs fail: more advanced models more reliably identify the relevant scope and variables, but still struggle to select appropriate analytical procedures, model variable relationships, and draw valid conclusions.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2026

SupplyNet: Supporting Visual Exploratory Learning in Supply Chain via Contextual Multi-Agent Simulation

Simulation has long supported supply chain management instruction by letting learners observe network behavior and test decision strategies. Recent progress in LLM-driven agents opens new possibilities for richer, more adaptive simulations, but many existing systems still present abstract, opaque data that overwhelms learners and discourages active exploration. We introduce \textit{SupplyNet}, a gamified visual simulation system built on a contextual graph-based LLM multi-agent framework that models interdependent supply chain dynamics and provides responsive feedback through tiered challenges. \textit{SupplyNet} turns the simulation into a manipulable decision space by integrating an interactive network view of system state, a branching timeline for "what-if" exploration and comparison, and a task-oriented analysis console for structured performance breakdowns. Together, these visual components support counterfactual exploration, causal tracing, and comparative reasoning about outcomes. A user study suggests that \textit{SupplyNet} increases engagement and supports users' perceived understanding of supply chain dynamics, highlighting the potential of pairing contextual multi-agent simulation with visualization to advance operational comprehension.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

AdaPT: Adaptive Lesson Plan Transformer for Cross-Regional and Differentiated Instruction

Due to educational inequality, high-quality lesson plans often mismatch the needs of disparate educational contexts. Teachers typically modify existing lesson plans to fit new contexts, but current tools instead focus on generating content from scratch, creating additional workload. Moreover, a critical gap remains in supporting teachers to quickly adapt to new learning profiles. To bridge these gaps, we present AdaPT, a system leverages LLMs to support transformation of existing lesson plans for cross-regional and differentiated instruction. AdaPT features an interactive interface that allows teachers to input student profiles, offers structured lesson representation, provides explanations for lesson-plan transformations, automatically adapts lesson content for new contexts, and supports iterative, teacher-in-the-loop refinement. We evaluated AdaPT through a user study with 9 teachers and an expert evaluation with 3 specialists. Results show that AdaPT supports workflows of teachers and offers a promising pathway toward promoting educational equity.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

VizQStudio: Iterative Visualization Literacy MCQs Design with Simulated Students

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are a widely used educational tool, particularly in domains such as visualization literacy that require broad conceptual coverage and support diverse real-world applications. However, designing high-quality visualization literacy MCQs remains challenging, as instructors must coordinate multimodal elements (e.g., charts, question stems, and distractors), address diverse visualization tasks, and accommodate learners with heterogeneous backgrounds. Existing visualization literacy assessments primarily rely on standardized, fixed item banks, offering limited support for iterative question design that adapts to differences in learners' abilities, backgrounds, and reasoning strategies. To address these challenges, we present VizQStudio, a visual analytics system that supports instructors in iteratively designing and refining visualization literacy MCQs using MLLM-powered simulated students. Instructors can specify diverse student profiles spanning demographics, knowledge levels, and learning-related traits. The system then visualizes how simulated students reason about and respond to different question components, helping instructors explore potential misconceptions, difficulty calibration, and design trade-offs prior to classroom deployment. We investigate VizQStudio through a mixed-method evaluation, including expert interviews, case studies, a classroom deployment, and a large-scale online study. Overall, this work reframes MLLM-based student simulation in assessment authoring as a design-time, exploratory aid. By examining both its value and limitations in realistic instructional settings, we surface design insights that inform how future systems can support instructor-centered, iterative, and responsible uses of AI for multimodal assessment design in visualization literacy and related domains.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2025

VizDefender: Unmasking Visualization Tampering through Proactive Localization and Intent Inference

The integrity of data visualizations is increasingly threatened by image editing techniques that enable subtle yet deceptive tampering. Through a formative study, we define this challenge and categorize tampering techniques into two primary types: data manipulation and visual encoding manipulation. To address this, we present VizDefender, a framework for tampering detection and analysis. The framework integrates two core components: 1) a semi-fragile watermark module that protects the visualization by embedding a location map to images, which allows for the precise localization of tampered regions while preserving visual quality, and 2) an intent analysis module that leverages Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) to interpret manipulation, inferring the attacker's intent and misleading effects. Extensive evaluations and user studies demonstrate the effectiveness of our methods.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2025

RhythmTA: A Visual-Aided Interactive System for ESL Rhythm Training via Dubbing Practice

English speech rhythm, the temporal patterns of stressed syllables, is essential for English as a second language (ESL) learners to produce natural-sounding and comprehensible speech. Rhythm training is generally based on imitation of native speech. However, it relies heavily on external instructor feedback, preventing ESL learners from independent practice. To address this gap, we present RhythmTA, an interactive system for ESL learners to practice speech rhythm independently via dubbing, an imitation-based approach. The system automatically extracts rhythm from any English speech and introduces novel visual designs to support three stages of dubbing practice: (1) Synchronized listening with visual aids to enhance perception, (2) Guided repeating by visual cues for self-adjustment, and (3) Comparative reflection from a parallel view for self-monitoring. Our design is informed by a formative study with nine spoken English instructors, which identified current practices and challenges. A user study with twelve ESL learners demonstrates that RhythmTA effectively enhances learners' rhythm perception and shows significant potential for improving rhythm production.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2025

Unmasking Deceptive Visuals: Benchmarking Multimodal Large Language Models on Misleading Chart Question Answering

Misleading visualizations, which manipulate chart representations to support specific claims, can distort perception and lead to incorrect conclusions. Despite decades of research, they remain a widespread issue, posing risks to public understanding and raising safety concerns for AI systems involved in data-driven communication. While recent multimodal large language models (MLLMs) show strong chart comprehension abilities, their capacity to detect and interpret misleading charts remains unexplored. We introduce Misleading ChartQA benchmark, a large-scale multimodal dataset designed to evaluate MLLMs on misleading chart reasoning. It contains 3,026 curated examples spanning 21 misleader types and 10 chart types, each with standardized chart code, CSV data, multiple-choice questions, and labeled explanations, validated through iterative MLLM checks and expert human review. We benchmark 24 state-of-the-art MLLMs, analyze their performance across misleader types and chart formats, and propose a novel region-aware reasoning pipeline that enhances model accuracy. Our work lays the foundation for developing MLLMs that are robust, trustworthy, and aligned with the demands of responsible visual communication.

cs.CL↗