Interpretable AI Models : A Comprehensive Overview
Artificial Intelligence

Interpretable AI Models : A Comprehensive Overview

Mandi D 3 July 2023
Table of contents

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly transformed our world in ways that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. However, with the increasing complexity of these AI models, a pressing concern has emerged: interpretability.

Interpretability in AI, often also referred to as explainability, is the measure of how understandable an AI system’s decisions or outputs are. This article delves into the realm of interpretable AI models, elucidating the reasons for their importance, the primary categories, and techniques to achieve them.

Why is Interpretability Important?

Interpretability is important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, understanding an AI system’s decision-making process helps build trust. If users can comprehend why an AI system is making specific decisions, they are more likely to trust it. This is particularly crucial in sectors such as healthcare and finance, where AI’s decisions can have significant consequences.

Secondly, interpretability is essential for improving model performance. By understanding the decision-making process, developers can identify and correct errors in the model. Additionally, interpretability can help in avoiding bias in AI systems, a pertinent issue in today’s AI applications.

Lastly, regulatory compliance often demands interpretability. For instance, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) includes a ‘right to explanation,’ where users can ask for an explanation of an algorithmic decision that impacts them.

Types of Interpretability

Interpretability can be broadly categorized into two types: global and local.

Global Interpretability

Global interpretability refers to an understanding of the model as a whole. This means comprehending how the model makes decisions based on all the features it considers. A globally interpretable model allows for an overall understanding of the model’s functioning.

Local Interpretability

On the other hand, local interpretability refers to understanding why the model made a specific decision for a single instance. This involves understanding which features were most influential for a particular prediction or decision.

Techniques for Interpretability

Several techniques have been developed to improve the interpretability of AI models. Here we will discuss some of the most widely used ones.

Feature Importance

Feature importance ranks the input features based on their relevance to the model’s output. It provides an insight into which features the model considers most important in making its decisions. This technique is commonly used in tree-based models, such as decision trees and random forests.

Partial Dependence Plots (PDPs)

PDPs are a type of visualization that displays the effect of a feature on the prediction outcome. These plots help understand the relationship between a target response (dependent variable) and a set of ‘features’ (independent variables).

LIME (Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations)

LIME is a technique that explains the predictions of any classifier in a faithful way, by approximating it locally with an interpretable model.

SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations)

SHAP is a unified measure of feature importance that allocates the contribution of each feature for a particular prediction.

Online Resources and References

  1. Interpretable Machine Learning Book: This is an online book that provides a comprehensive overview of interpretability in machine learning. It covers a range of topics, from the basics to more advanced techniques.
  2. Google’s People + AI Guidebook: This guidebook by Google delves into the human aspect of AI. It provides insights into how to design AI systems that are understandable by people.
  3. The Mythos of Model Interpretability – ACM Queue Article: A paper that addresses some of the assumptions and definitions around interpretable machine learning. It explores the motivations behind interpretability and identifies techniques and properties that make a model interpretable. The paper also discusses the feasibility and desirability of different interpretations of interpretability.
  4. Interpretable Machine Learning – A Guide for Making Black Box Models Explainable: This online book by Christoph Molnar provides a comprehensive guide on making black box models explainable. It presents various interpretation methods and their advantages and disadvantages.
  5. Towards Data Science – Interpretability in Machine Learning: This article offers a comprehensive overview of interpretability in machine learning, including its importance, types, and techniques.

Through the application of these resources and the continuous study of interpretability, we can ensure that as AI systems become more complex, they also remain understandable, trustworthy, and effective in their applications. This will be key in responsibly advancing AI technology and its impacts on society.