T-Explainer: A Model-Agnostic Explainability Framework Based on Gradients

TL;DR

T-Explainer is a new model-agnostic feature attribution framework based on Taylor expansion, providing stable, accurate explanations of machine learning models' decisions, with tools for evaluation and visualization.

Contribution

It introduces T-Explainer, a novel additive attribution method based on Taylor expansion that enhances stability and accuracy in model explanations.

Findings

Demonstrates superior stability over existing attribution methods

Provides effective local accuracy and consistency in explanations

Includes tools for evaluation and visualization of explanations

Abstract

The development of machine learning applications has increased significantly in recent years, motivated by the remarkable ability of learning-powered systems to discover and generalize intricate patterns hidden in massive datasets. Modern learning models, while powerful, often exhibit a complexity level that renders them opaque black boxes, lacking transparency and hindering our understanding of their decision-making processes. Opacity challenges the practical application of machine learning, especially in critical domains requiring informed decisions. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) addresses that challenge, unraveling the complexity of black boxes by providing explanations. Feature attribution/importance XAI stands out for its ability to delineate the significance of input features in predictions. However, most attribution methods have limitations, such as instability, when divergent explanations result from similar or the same instance. This work introduces T-Explainer, a novel additive attribution explainer based on the Taylor expansion that offers desirable properties such as local accuracy and consistency. We demonstrate T-Explainer's effectiveness and stability over multiple runs in quantitative benchmark experiments against well-known attribution methods. Additionally, we provide several tools to evaluate and visualize explanations, turning T-Explainer into a comprehensive XAI framework.