Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives

Jincai Huang; Yongjun Xu; Qi Wang; Qi (Cheems) Wang; Xingxing Liang; Fei Wang; Zhao Zhang; Wei Wei; Boxuan Zhang; Libo Huang; Jingru Chang; Liantao Ma; Ting Ma; Yuxuan Liang; Jie Zhang; Jian Guo; Xuhui Jiang; Xinxin Fan; Zhulin An; Tingting Li; Xuefei Li; Zezhi Shao; Tangwen Qian; Tao Sun; Boyu Diao; Chuanguang Yang; Chenqing Yu; Yiqing Wu; Mengxian Li; Haifeng Zhang; Yongcheng Zeng; Zhicheng Zhang; Zhengqiu Zhu; Yiqin Lv; Aming Li; Xu Chen; Bo An; Wei Xiao; Chenguang Bai; Yuxing Mao; Zhigang Yin; Sheng Gui; Wentao Su; Yinghao Zhu; Junyi Gao; Xinyu He; Yizhou Li; Guangyin Jin; Xiang Ao; Xuehao Zhai; Haoran Tan; Lijun Yun; Hongquan Shi; Jun Li; Changjun Fan; Kuihua Huang; Ewen Harrison; Victor C.M. Leung; Sihang Qiu; Yanjie Dong; Xiaolong Zheng; Gang Wang; Yu Zheng; Yuanzhuo Wang; Jiafeng Guo; Lizhe Wang; Xueqi Cheng; Yaonan Wang; Shanlin Yang; Mengyin Fu; Aiguo Fei

doi:10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives

Jincai Huang, Yongjun Xu, Qi Wang, Qi (Cheems) Wang, Xingxing Liang, Fei Wang, Zhao Zhang, Wei Wei, Boxuan Zhang, Libo Huang, Jingru Chang, Liantao Ma, Ting Ma, Yuxuan Liang, Jie Zhang, Jian Guo, Xuhui Jiang, Xinxin Fan, Zhulin An, Tingting LiXuefei Li, Zezhi Shao, Tangwen Qian, Tao Sun, Boyu Diao, Chuanguang Yang, Chenqing Yu, Yiqing Wu, Mengxian Li, Haifeng Zhang, Yongcheng Zeng, Zhicheng Zhang, Zhengqiu Zhu, Yiqin Lv, Aming Li, Xu Chen, Bo An, Wei Xiao, Chenguang Bai, Yuxing Mao, Zhigang Yin, Sheng Gui, Wentao Su, Yinghao Zhu, Junyi Gao, Xinyu He, Yizhou Li, Guangyin Jin, Xiang Ao, Xuehao Zhai, Haoran Tan, Lijun Yun, Hongquan Shi, Jun Li, Changjun Fan, Kuihua Huang, Ewen Harrison, Victor C.M. Leung, Sihang Qiu^*, Yanjie Dong^*, Xiaolong Zheng^*, Gang Wang^*, Yu Zheng^*, Yuanzhuo Wang^*, Jiafeng Guo^*, Lizhe Wang^*, Xueqi Cheng^*, Yaonan Wang^*, Shanlin Yang^*, Mengyin Fu^*, Aiguo Fei^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Intelligent decision-making (IDM) is a cornerstone of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to automate or augment decision processes. Modern IDM paradigms integrate advanced frameworks to enable intelligent agents to make effective and adaptive choices and decompose complex tasks into manageable steps, such as AI agents and high-level reinforcement learning. Recent advances in multimodal foundation-based approaches unify diverse input modalities—such as vision, language, and sensory data—into a cohesive decision-making process. Foundation models (FMs) have become pivotal in science and industry, transforming decision-making and research capabilities. Their large-scale, multimodal data-processing abilities foster adaptability and interdisciplinary breakthroughs across fields such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. This survey examines IDM's evolution, advanced paradigms with FMs and their transformative impact on decision-making across diverse scientific and industrial domains, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in building efficient, adaptive, and ethical decision systems.

Original language	English
Article number	100948
Journal	Innovation
Volume	6
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948
Publication status	Published - 2 Jun 2025
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

agent
artificial intelligence
foundation models
intelligent decision-making
large language model

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10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

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Huang, J., Xu, Y., Wang, Q., Wang, Q., Liang, X., Wang, F., Zhang, Z., Wei, W., Zhang, B., Huang, L., Chang, J., Ma, L., Ma, T., Liang, Y., Zhang, J., Guo, J., Jiang, X., Fan, X., An, Z., ... Fei, A. (2025). Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives. Innovation, 6(6), Article 100948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

@article{aad09169ed3449b09f4516f4f2ab8562,

title = "Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives",

abstract = "Intelligent decision-making (IDM) is a cornerstone of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to automate or augment decision processes. Modern IDM paradigms integrate advanced frameworks to enable intelligent agents to make effective and adaptive choices and decompose complex tasks into manageable steps, such as AI agents and high-level reinforcement learning. Recent advances in multimodal foundation-based approaches unify diverse input modalities—such as vision, language, and sensory data—into a cohesive decision-making process. Foundation models (FMs) have become pivotal in science and industry, transforming decision-making and research capabilities. Their large-scale, multimodal data-processing abilities foster adaptability and interdisciplinary breakthroughs across fields such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. This survey examines IDM's evolution, advanced paradigms with FMs and their transformative impact on decision-making across diverse scientific and industrial domains, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in building efficient, adaptive, and ethical decision systems.",

keywords = "agent, artificial intelligence, foundation models, intelligent decision-making, large language model",

author = "Jincai Huang and Yongjun Xu and Qi Wang and Wang, {Qi (Cheems)} and Xingxing Liang and Fei Wang and Zhao Zhang and Wei Wei and Boxuan Zhang and Libo Huang and Jingru Chang and Liantao Ma and Ting Ma and Yuxuan Liang and Jie Zhang and Jian Guo and Xuhui Jiang and Xinxin Fan and Zhulin An and Tingting Li and Xuefei Li and Zezhi Shao and Tangwen Qian and Tao Sun and Boyu Diao and Chuanguang Yang and Chenqing Yu and Yiqing Wu and Mengxian Li and Haifeng Zhang and Yongcheng Zeng and Zhicheng Zhang and Zhengqiu Zhu and Yiqin Lv and Aming Li and Xu Chen and Bo An and Wei Xiao and Chenguang Bai and Yuxing Mao and Zhigang Yin and Sheng Gui and Wentao Su and Yinghao Zhu and Junyi Gao and Xinyu He and Yizhou Li and Guangyin Jin and Xiang Ao and Xuehao Zhai and Haoran Tan and Lijun Yun and Hongquan Shi and Jun Li and Changjun Fan and Kuihua Huang and Ewen Harrison and Leung, {Victor C.M.} and Sihang Qiu and Yanjie Dong and Xiaolong Zheng and Gang Wang and Yu Zheng and Yuanzhuo Wang and Jiafeng Guo and Lizhe Wang and Xueqi Cheng and Yaonan Wang and Shanlin Yang and Mengyin Fu and Aiguo Fei",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Authors",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "2",

doi = "10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948",

language = "English",

volume = "6",

journal = "Innovation",

issn = "2666-6758",

publisher = "Cell Press",

number = "6",

}

Huang, J, Xu, Y, Wang, Q, Wang, Q, Liang, X, Wang, F, Zhang, Z, Wei, W, Zhang, B, Huang, L, Chang, J, Ma, L, Ma, T, Liang, Y, Zhang, J, Guo, J, Jiang, X, Fan, X, An, Z, Li, T, Li, X, Shao, Z, Qian, T, Sun, T, Diao, B, Yang, C, Yu, C, Wu, Y, Li, M, Zhang, H, Zeng, Y, Zhang, Z, Zhu, Z, Lv, Y, Li, A, Chen, X, An, B, Xiao, W, Bai, C, Mao, Y, Yin, Z, Gui, S, Su, W, Zhu, Y, Gao, J, He, X, Li, Y, Jin, G, Ao, X, Zhai, X, Tan, H, Yun, L, Shi, H, Li, J, Fan, C, Huang, K, Harrison, E, Leung, VCM, Qiu, S, Dong, Y, Zheng, X, Wang, G, Zheng, Y, Wang, Y, Guo, J, Wang, L, Cheng, X, Wang, Y, Yang, S, Fu, M & Fei, A 2025, 'Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives', Innovation, vol. 6, no. 6, 100948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

TY - JOUR

T1 - Foundation models and intelligent decision-making

T2 - Progress, challenges, and perspectives

AU - Huang, Jincai

AU - Xu, Yongjun

AU - Wang, Qi

AU - Wang, Qi (Cheems)

AU - Liang, Xingxing

AU - Wang, Fei

AU - Zhang, Zhao

AU - Wei, Wei

AU - Zhang, Boxuan

AU - Huang, Libo

AU - Chang, Jingru

AU - Ma, Liantao

AU - Ma, Ting

AU - Liang, Yuxuan

AU - Zhang, Jie

AU - Guo, Jian

AU - Jiang, Xuhui

AU - Fan, Xinxin

AU - An, Zhulin

AU - Li, Tingting

AU - Li, Xuefei

AU - Shao, Zezhi

AU - Qian, Tangwen

AU - Sun, Tao

AU - Diao, Boyu

AU - Yang, Chuanguang

AU - Yu, Chenqing

AU - Wu, Yiqing

AU - Li, Mengxian

AU - Zhang, Haifeng

AU - Zeng, Yongcheng

AU - Zhang, Zhicheng

AU - Zhu, Zhengqiu

AU - Lv, Yiqin

AU - Li, Aming

AU - Chen, Xu

AU - An, Bo

AU - Xiao, Wei

AU - Bai, Chenguang

AU - Mao, Yuxing

AU - Yin, Zhigang

AU - Gui, Sheng

AU - Su, Wentao

AU - Zhu, Yinghao

AU - Gao, Junyi

AU - He, Xinyu

AU - Li, Yizhou

AU - Jin, Guangyin

AU - Ao, Xiang

AU - Zhai, Xuehao

AU - Tan, Haoran

AU - Yun, Lijun

AU - Shi, Hongquan

AU - Li, Jun

AU - Fan, Changjun

AU - Huang, Kuihua

AU - Harrison, Ewen

AU - Leung, Victor C.M.

AU - Qiu, Sihang

AU - Dong, Yanjie

AU - Zheng, Xiaolong

AU - Wang, Gang

AU - Zheng, Yu

AU - Wang, Yuanzhuo

AU - Guo, Jiafeng

AU - Wang, Lizhe

AU - Cheng, Xueqi

AU - Wang, Yaonan

AU - Yang, Shanlin

AU - Fu, Mengyin

AU - Fei, Aiguo

PY - 2025/6/2

Y1 - 2025/6/2

N2 - Intelligent decision-making (IDM) is a cornerstone of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to automate or augment decision processes. Modern IDM paradigms integrate advanced frameworks to enable intelligent agents to make effective and adaptive choices and decompose complex tasks into manageable steps, such as AI agents and high-level reinforcement learning. Recent advances in multimodal foundation-based approaches unify diverse input modalities—such as vision, language, and sensory data—into a cohesive decision-making process. Foundation models (FMs) have become pivotal in science and industry, transforming decision-making and research capabilities. Their large-scale, multimodal data-processing abilities foster adaptability and interdisciplinary breakthroughs across fields such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. This survey examines IDM's evolution, advanced paradigms with FMs and their transformative impact on decision-making across diverse scientific and industrial domains, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in building efficient, adaptive, and ethical decision systems.

AB - Intelligent decision-making (IDM) is a cornerstone of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to automate or augment decision processes. Modern IDM paradigms integrate advanced frameworks to enable intelligent agents to make effective and adaptive choices and decompose complex tasks into manageable steps, such as AI agents and high-level reinforcement learning. Recent advances in multimodal foundation-based approaches unify diverse input modalities—such as vision, language, and sensory data—into a cohesive decision-making process. Foundation models (FMs) have become pivotal in science and industry, transforming decision-making and research capabilities. Their large-scale, multimodal data-processing abilities foster adaptability and interdisciplinary breakthroughs across fields such as healthcare, life sciences, and education. This survey examines IDM's evolution, advanced paradigms with FMs and their transformative impact on decision-making across diverse scientific and industrial domains, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in building efficient, adaptive, and ethical decision systems.

KW - agent

KW - artificial intelligence

KW - foundation models

KW - intelligent decision-making

KW - large language model

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105007079536&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

DO - 10.1016/j.xinn.2025.100948

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:105007079536

SN - 2666-6758

VL - 6

JO - Innovation

JF - Innovation

IS - 6

M1 - 100948

ER -

Foundation models and intelligent decision-making: Progress, challenges, and perspectives

Abstract

Keywords

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