# Broadening Access to Simulations for End-Users via Large Language Models: Challenges and Opportunities

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.15290 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.15290/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 25 of its 60 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 3 Sep 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 25 of 25)

- [G-Eval: NLG Evaluation using GPT-4 with Better Human Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.16634/) (2023)
- [On Faithfulness and Factuality in Abstractive Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00661/) (2020)
- [Adversarial NLI: A New Benchmark for Natural Language Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.14599/) (2019)
- [Evaluating the Factual Consistency of Abstractive Text Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.12840/) (2019)
- [LLM-Blender: Ensembling Large Language Models with Pairwise Ranking and Generative Fusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.02561/) (2023)
- [SummaC: Re-Visiting NLI-based Models for Inconsistency Detection in Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.09525/) (2021)
- [Asking and Answering Questions to Evaluate the Factual Consistency of Summaries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.04228/) (2020)
- [FEQA: A Question Answering Evaluation Framework for Faithfulness Assessment in Abstractive Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.03754/) (2020)
- [Table Meets LLM: Can Large Language Models Understand Structured Table Data? A Benchmark and Empirical Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.13062/) (2023)
- [Learning to Ask Good Questions: Ranking Clarification Questions using Neural Expected Value of Perfect Information](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.04655/) (2018)
- [Revisiting Out-of-distribution Robustness in NLP: Benchmark, Analysis, and LLMs Evaluations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.04618/) (2023)
- [LLM-based NLG Evaluation: Current Status and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01383/) (2024)
- [Asking the Right Question at the Right Time: Human and Model Uncertainty Guidance to Ask Clarification Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.06509/) (2024)
- [Exploiting Simulated User Feedback for Conversational Search: Ranking, Rewriting, and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.13874/) (2023)
- [Generative Query Reformulation for Effective Adhoc Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00415/) (2023)
- [Learning Agent-based Modeling with LLM Companions: Experiences of Novices and Experts Using ChatGPT & NetLogo Chat](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.17163/) (2024)
- [Ask Optimal Questions: Aligning Large Language Models with Retriever's Preference in Conversation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11827/) (2024)
- [GenQREnsemble: Zero-Shot LLM Ensemble Prompting for Generative Query Reformulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.03746/) (2024)
- [Generative Agent-Based Modeling: Unveiling Social System Dynamics through Coupling Mechanistic Models with Generative Artificial Intelligence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.11456/) (2023)
- [Context Aware Query Rewriting for Text Rankers using LLM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.16753/) (2023)
- [Large Language Model (LLM) Bias Index -- LLMBI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.14769/) (2023)
- [From Text to Map: A System Dynamics Bot for Constructing Causal Loop Diagrams](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.11400/) (2024)
- [Beyond Semantics: Learning a Behavior Augmented Relevance Model with Self-supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.05379/) (2023)
- [Solution-oriented Agent-based Models Generation with Verifier-assisted Iterative In-context Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02388/) (2024)
- [CloudSim Express: A Novel Framework for Rapid Low Code Simulation of Cloud Computing Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.00974/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Unlocking the Potential of Past Research: Using Generative AI to Reconstruct Healthcare Simulation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.21646/) (2025)
- [Using (Not-so) Large Language Models to Generate Simulation Models in a Formal DSL: A Study on Reaction Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.01675/) (2025)
- [Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to convert images of queuing networks into verifiable simulation models: an open-weight LLM workflow approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.24259/) (2026)
- [Artificial Intelligence and Modeling & Simulation: An Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.00366/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Large Language Models (LLMs) are becoming ubiquitous to create intelligent virtual assistants that assist users in interacting with a system, as exemplified in marketing. Although LLMs have been discussed in Modeling & Simulation (M&S), the community has focused on generating code or explaining results. We examine the possibility of using LLMs to broaden access to simulations, by enabling non-simulation end-users to ask what-if questions in everyday language. Specifically, we discuss the opportunities and challenges in designing such an end-to-end system, divided into three broad phases. First, assuming the general case in which several simulation models are available, textual queries are mapped to the most relevant model. Second, if a mapping cannot be found, the query can be automatically reformulated and clarifying questions can be generated. Finally, simulation results are produced and contextualized for decision-making. Our vision for such system articulates long-term research opportunities spanning M&S, LLMs, information retrieval, and ethics.