# MetaExplainer: A Framework to Generate Multi-Type User-Centered Explanations for AI Systems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00300 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.00300/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 19 of its 37 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 Aug 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [LoRA: Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.09685/) (2021)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [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)
- [Explanation in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Social Sciences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.07269/) (2017)
- [Counterfactual Explanations without Opening the Black Box: Automated Decisions and the GDPR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.00399/) (2017)
- [Explaining Machine Learning Classifiers through Diverse Counterfactual Explanations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.07697/) (2019)
- [Supervised Contrastive Learning for Pre-trained Language Model Fine-tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.01403/) (2020)
- [Questioning the AI: Informing Design Practices for Explainable AI User Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.02478/) (2020)
- [One Explanation Does Not Fit All: A Toolkit and Taxonomy of AI Explainability Techniques](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.03012/) (2019)
- [Explaining Explanations in AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.01439/) (2018)
- [What Clinicians Want: Contextualizing Explainable Machine Learning for Clinical End Use](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.05134/) (2019)
- [Boolean Decision Rules via Column Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.09901/) (2018)
- [TalkToModel: Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.04154/) (2022)
- [Connecting Algorithmic Research and Usage Contexts: A Perspective of Contextualized Evaluation for Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.10847/) (2022)
- [Towards Bridging the Gaps between the Right to Explanation and the Right to be Forgotten](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04288/) (2023)
- [AI Explainability 360: Impact and Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.12151/) (2021)
- [Informing clinical assessment by contextualizing post-hoc explanations of risk prediction models in type-2 diabetes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.05752/) (2023)
- [Evaluating Large Language Models in Semantic Parsing for Conversational Question Answering over Knowledge Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.01711/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Explanations are crucial for building trustworthy AI systems, but a gap often exists between the explanations provided by models and those needed by users. To address this gap, we introduce MetaExplainer, a neuro-symbolic framework designed to generate user-centered explanations. Our approach employs a three-stage process: first, we decompose user questions into machine-readable formats using state-of-the-art large language models (LLM); second, we delegate the task of generating system recommendations to model explainer methods; and finally, we synthesize natural language explanations that summarize the explainer outputs. Throughout this process, we utilize an Explanation Ontology to guide the language models and explainer methods. By leveraging LLMs and a structured approach to explanation generation, MetaExplainer aims to enhance the interpretability and trustworthiness of AI systems across various applications, providing users with tailored, question-driven explanations that better meet their needs. Comprehensive evaluations of MetaExplainer demonstrate a step towards evaluating and utilizing current state-of-the-art explanation frameworks. Our results show high performance across all stages, with a 59.06% F1-score in question reframing, 70% faithfulness in model explanations, and 67% context-utilization in natural language synthesis. User studies corroborate these findings, highlighting the creativity and comprehensiveness of generated explanations. Tested on the Diabetes (PIMA Indian) tabular dataset, MetaExplainer supports diverse explanation types, including Contrastive, Counterfactual, Rationale, Case-Based, and Data explanations. The framework's versatility and traceability from using ontology to guide LLMs suggest broad applicability beyond the tested scenarios, positioning MetaExplainer as a promising tool for enhancing AI explainability across various domains.