DCU at SemEval-2023 Task 10: A Comparative Analysis of Encoder-only and Decoder-only Language Models with Insights into Interpretability

Kanishk Verma, Kolawole Adebayo, Joachim Wagner, Brian Davis

Abstract: We conduct a comparison of pre-trained encoder-only and decoder-only language models with and without continued pre-training, to detect online sexism. Our fine-tuning-based classifier system achieved the 16th rank in the SemEval 2023 Shared Task 10 Subtask A that asks to distinguish sexist and non-sexist texts. Additionally, we conduct experiments aimed at enhancing the interpretability of systems designed to detect online sexism. Our findings provide insights into the features and decision-making processes underlying our classifier system, thereby contributing to a broader effort to develop explainable AI models to detect online sexism.