# Confidence Scoring Using Whitebox Meta-models with Linear Classifier Probes

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.05396 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.05396/

## Key facts

- Cited by 21 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 May 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 21 of 21)

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- [Neurosymbolic AI Transfer Learning Improves Network Intrusion Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.10850/) (2025)
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## Abstract (arXiv)

We propose a novel confidence scoring mechanism for deep neural networks based on a two-model paradigm involving a base model and a meta-model. The confidence score is learned by the meta-model observing the base model succeeding/failing at its task. As features to the meta-model, we investigate linear classifier probes inserted between the various layers of the base model. Our experiments demonstrate that this approach outperforms various baselines in a filtering task, i.e., task of rejecting samples with low confidence. Experimental results are presented using CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 dataset with and without added noise. We discuss the importance of confidence scoring to bridge the gap between experimental and real-world applications.
