# Fairer Software Made Easier (using "Keys")

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.05088 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.05088/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Jul 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [A Unified Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.07874/) (2017)
- ["Why Should I Trust You?": Explaining the Predictions of Any Classifier](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.04938/) (2016)
- [Making Fair ML Software using Trustworthy Explanation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.02893/) (2020)
- [Better Data Labelling with EMBLEM (and how that Impacts Defect Prediction)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.01719/) (2019)
- [Improving Vulnerability Inspection Efficiency Using Active Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.06545/) (2018)
- [Fairkit, Fairkit, on the Wall, Who's the Fairest of Them All? Supporting Data Scientists in Training Fair Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.09951/) (2020)
- ["Sampling"' as a Baseline Optimizer for Search-based Software Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.07617/) (2016)
- [Faster Discovery of Faster System Configurations with Spectral Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1701.08106/) (2017)
- [Defect Reduction Planning (using TimeLIME)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.07416/) (2020)
- [Learning Actionable Analytics from Multiple Software Projects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.05442/) (2017)
- [Some Properties of Joint Probability Distributions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1302.6802/) (2013)
- [Preference Discovery in Large Product Lines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.03792/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Can we simplify explanations for software analytics? Maybe. Recent results show that systems often exhibit a "keys effect"; i.e. a few key features control the rest. Just to say the obvious, for systems controlled by a few keys, explanation and control is just a matter of running a handful of "what-if" queries across the keys. By exploiting the keys effect, it should be possible to dramatically simplify even complex explanations, such as those required for ethical AI systems.