Abstract:The growing complexity of machine learning and deep learning models has led to an increased reliance on opaque "black box" systems, making it difficult to understand the rationale behind predictions. This lack of transparency is particularly challenging in high-stakes applications where interpretability is as important as accuracy. Post-hoc explanation methods are commonly used to interpret these models, but they are seldom rigorously evaluated, raising concerns about their reliability. The Python package xai_evals addresses this by providing a comprehensive framework for generating, benchmarking, and evaluating explanation methods across both tabular and image data modalities. It integrates popular techniques like SHAP, LIME, Grad-CAM, Integrated Gradients (IG), and Backtrace, while supporting evaluation metrics such as faithfulness, sensitivity, and robustness. xai_evals enhances the interpretability of machine learning models, fostering transparency and trust in AI systems. The library is open-sourced at https://pypi.org/project/xai-evals/ .
Abstract:The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has led to increasingly sophisticated deep learning models, which frequently operate as opaque 'black boxes' with limited transparency in their decision-making processes. This lack of interpretability presents considerable challenges, especially in high-stakes applications where understanding the rationale behind a model's outputs is as essential as the outputs themselves. This study addresses the pressing need for interpretability in AI systems, emphasizing its role in fostering trust, ensuring accountability, and promoting responsible deployment in mission-critical fields. To address the interpretability challenge in deep learning, we introduce DLBacktrace, an innovative technique developed by the AryaXAI team to illuminate model decisions across a wide array of domains, including simple Multi Layer Perceptron (MLPs), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Large Language Models (LLMs), Computer Vision Models, and more. We provide a comprehensive overview of the DLBacktrace algorithm and present benchmarking results, comparing its performance against established interpretability methods, such as SHAP, LIME, GradCAM, Integrated Gradients, SmoothGrad, and Attention Rollout, using diverse task-based metrics. The proposed DLBacktrace technique is compatible with various model architectures built in PyTorch and TensorFlow, supporting models like Llama 3.2, other NLP architectures such as BERT and LSTMs, computer vision models like ResNet and U-Net, as well as custom deep neural network (DNN) models for tabular data. This flexibility underscores DLBacktrace's adaptability and effectiveness in enhancing model transparency across a broad spectrum of applications. The library is open-sourced and available at https://github.com/AryaXAI/DLBacktrace .