Shapley Values with Uncertain Value Functions

Raoul Heese, Sascha Mücke, Matthias Jakobs, Thore Gerlach, Nico Piatkowski

Abstract: We propose a novel definition of Shapley values with uncertain value functions based on first principles using probability theory. Such uncertain value functions can arise in the context of explainable machine learning as a result of non-deterministic algorithms. We show that random effects can in fact be absorbed into a Shapley value with a noiseless but shifted value function. Hence, Shapley values with uncertain value functions can be used in analogy to regular Shapley values. However, their reliable evaluation typically requires more computational effort.