# Metrics for Explainable AI: Challenges and Prospects

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.04608 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04608/

## Key facts

- Cited by 260 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 11 Dec 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 260)

- [From Anecdotal Evidence to Quantitative Evaluation Methods: A Systematic Review on Evaluating Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.08164/) (2022)
- [Trustworthy AI: From Principles to Practices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.01167/) (2021)
- [Quantus: An Explainable AI Toolkit for Responsible Evaluation of Neural Network Explanations and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.06861/) (2022)
- [Teach Me to Explain: A Review of Datasets for Explainable Natural Language Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.12060/) (2021)
- [Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) 2.0: A Manifesto of Open Challenges and Interdisciplinary Research Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19775/) (2023)
- [What Do We Want From Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)? -- A Stakeholder Perspective on XAI and a Conceptual Model Guiding Interdisciplinary XAI Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.07817/) (2021)
- [Towards Human-centered Explainable AI: A Survey of User Studies for Model Explanations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.11584/) (2022)
- [If Only We Had Better Counterfactual Explanations: Five Key Deficits to Rectify in the Evaluation of Counterfactual XAI Techniques](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.01035/) (2021)
- [Explanations in Autonomous Driving: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.05154/) (2021)
- [Understanding the Role of Human Intuition on Reliance in Human-AI Decision-Making with Explanations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.07255/) (2023)
- [Connecting the Dots in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence: From AI Principles, Ethics, and Key Requirements to Responsible AI Systems and Regulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.02231/) (2023)
- [Designing for Responsible Trust in AI Systems: A Communication Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.13828/) (2022)
- [Knowing About Knowing: An Illusion of Human Competence Can Hinder Appropriate Reliance on AI Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11333/) (2023)
- [Connecting Algorithmic Research and Usage Contexts: A Perspective of Contextualized Evaluation for Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.10847/) (2022)
- [Going Beyond XAI: A Systematic Survey for Explanation-Guided Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.03954/) (2022)
- [AutoDS: Towards Human-Centered Automation of Data Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.05273/) (2021)
- [Should I Follow AI-based Advice? Measuring Appropriate Reliance in Human-AI Decision-Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06916/) (2022)
- [Finding the right XAI method -- A Guide for the Evaluation and Ranking of Explainable AI Methods in Climate Science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.00652/) (2023)
- [Principles of Explanation in Human-AI Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.04972/) (2021)
- [Scalable Interpretability via Polynomials](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.14108/) (2022)
- [Formally Explaining Neural Networks within Reactive Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.00143/) (2023)
- [Stop ordering machine learning algorithms by their explainability! A user-centered investigation of performance and explainability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.10610/) (2022)
- [Automated Cyber Defence: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.04926/) (2023)
- [How Much Automation Does a Data Scientist Want?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.03970/) (2021)
- [CX-ToM: Counterfactual Explanations with Theory-of-Mind for Enhancing Human Trust in Image Recognition Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01401/) (2021)
- [Machine Explanations and Human Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.04092/) (2022)
- [Explainable, Interpretable & Trustworthy AI for Intelligent Digital Twin: Case Study on Remaining Useful Life](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.06676/) (2023)
- [Large Language Models for Constructing and Optimizing Machine Learning Workflows: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.10478/) (2024)
- [On the Influence of Explainable AI on Automation Bias](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.08859/) (2022)
- [Directive Explanations for Monitoring the Risk of Diabetes Onset: Introducing Directive Data-Centric Explanations and Combinations to Support What-If Explorations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.10671/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The question addressed in this paper is: If we present to a user an AI system that explains how it works, how do we know whether the explanation works and the user has achieved a pragmatic understanding of the AI? In other words, how do we know that an explanainable AI system (XAI) is any good? Our focus is on the key concepts of measurement. We discuss specific methods for evaluating: (1) the goodness of explanations, (2) whether users are satisfied by explanations, (3) how well users understand the AI systems, (4) how curiosity motivates the search for explanations, (5) whether the user's trust and reliance on the AI are appropriate, and finally, (6) how the human-XAI work system performs. The recommendations we present derive from our integration of extensive research literatures and our own psychometric evaluations.