Interpretability Must Be Actionable to Have Real-World Impact
A position paper published on arXiv asserts that the key element lacking in interpretability research for it to make a tangible difference is not innovative methods, but rather evaluation criteria. The authors outline actionable interpretability through two aspects—concreteness and validation—and examine obstacles hindering real-world effectiveness. They pinpoint five areas where interpretability can provide significant advantages and propose a framework that includes evaluation criteria focused on practical results. While the paper acknowledges the importance of exploratory research, its goal is to create actionable benchmarks.
Key facts
- Interpretability aims to explain deep neural network behavior.
- There is concern that much interpretability work has not translated into practical impact.
- The paper argues the missing ingredient is evaluation criteria, not new methods.
- Actionable interpretability is defined by concreteness and validation.
- Five domains where interpretability offers unique leverage are identified.
- A framework for actionable interpretability with practical evaluation criteria is presented.
- The paper is a position paper published on arXiv.
- The arXiv ID is 2605.11161.
Entities
Institutions
- arXiv