Using generative adversarial networks to construct realistic counterfactual explanations for machine learning models

Abstract

Herein are counterfactual explanations of machine learning (ML) inferencing provided by generative adversarial networks (GANs) that ensure realistic counterfactuals and use latent spaces to optimize perturbations. In an embodiment, a first computer trains a generator model in a GAN. A same or second computer hosts a classifier model that inferences an original label for original feature values respectively for many features. Runtime ML explainability (MLX) occurs on the first or second or a third computer as follows. The generator model from the GAN generates a sequence of revised feature values that are based on noise. The noise is iteratively optimized based on a distance between the original feature values and current revised feature values in the sequence of revised feature values. The classifier model inferences a current label respectively for each counterfactual in the sequence of revised feature values. Satisfactory discovered counterfactuals are promoted as explanations of behavior of the classifier model.