Interpretability in the Era of Large Language Models: Opportunities and Challenges

TMLR Paper2618 Authors

02 May 2024 (modified: 08 Jul 2024)Under review for TMLREveryoneRevisionsBibTeXCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: Interpretable machine learning has exploded as an area of interest over the last decade, sparked by the rise of increasingly large datasets and deep neural networks. Simultaneously, large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities across a wide array of tasks, offering a chance to rethink opportunities in interpretable machine learning. Notably, the capability to explain in natural language allows LLMs to expand the scale and complexity of patterns that can be given to a human. However, these new capabilities raise new challenges, such as hallucinated explanations and immense computational costs. In this position paper, we start by reviewing existing methods to evaluate the emerging field of LLM interpretation (both interpreting LLMs and using LLMs for explanation). We contend that, despite their limitations, LLMs hold the opportunity to redefine interpretability with a more ambitious scope across many applications, including in auditing LLMs themselves. We highlight two emerging research priorities for LLM interpretation: using LLMs to directly analyze new datasets and to generate interactive explanations.
Submission Length: Regular submission (no more than 12 pages of main content)
Changes Since Last Submission: - Updates addressing reviewer comments, especially new Table 1 and Sec 2.2
Assigned Action Editor: ~Quanshi_Zhang1
Submission Number: 2618
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