Explainable AI for Embedded Systems Design: A Case Study of Static Redundant NVM Memory Write Prediction

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gamatié, Abdoulaye, Wang, Yuyang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909131198169088
author Gamatié, Abdoulaye
Wang, Yuyang
author_facet Gamatié, Abdoulaye
Wang, Yuyang
contents This paper investigates the application of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in the design of embedded systems using machine learning (ML). As a case study, it addresses the challenging problem of static silent store prediction. This involves identifying redundant memory writes based only on static program features. Eliminating such stores enhances performance and energy efficiency by reducing memory access and bus traffic, especially in the presence of emerging non-volatile memory technologies. To achieve this, we propose a methodology consisting of: 1) the development of relevant ML models for explaining silent store prediction, and 2) the application of XAI to explain these models. We employ two state-of-the-art model-agnostic XAI methods to analyze the causes of silent stores. Through the case study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the methods. We find that these methods provide explanations for silent store predictions, which are consistent with known causes of silent store occurrences from previous studies. Typically, this allows us to confirm the prevalence of silent stores in operations that write the zero constant into memory, or the absence of silent stores in operations involving loop induction variables. This suggests the potential relevance of XAI in analyzing ML models' decision in embedded system design. From the case study, we share some valuable insights and pitfalls we encountered. More generally, this study aims to lay the groundwork for future research in the emerging field of XAI for embedded system design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_04337
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Explainable AI for Embedded Systems Design: A Case Study of Static Redundant NVM Memory Write Prediction
Gamatié, Abdoulaye
Wang, Yuyang
Machine Learning
Programming Languages
Software Engineering
This paper investigates the application of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in the design of embedded systems using machine learning (ML). As a case study, it addresses the challenging problem of static silent store prediction. This involves identifying redundant memory writes based only on static program features. Eliminating such stores enhances performance and energy efficiency by reducing memory access and bus traffic, especially in the presence of emerging non-volatile memory technologies. To achieve this, we propose a methodology consisting of: 1) the development of relevant ML models for explaining silent store prediction, and 2) the application of XAI to explain these models. We employ two state-of-the-art model-agnostic XAI methods to analyze the causes of silent stores. Through the case study, we evaluate the effectiveness of the methods. We find that these methods provide explanations for silent store predictions, which are consistent with known causes of silent store occurrences from previous studies. Typically, this allows us to confirm the prevalence of silent stores in operations that write the zero constant into memory, or the absence of silent stores in operations involving loop induction variables. This suggests the potential relevance of XAI in analyzing ML models' decision in embedded system design. From the case study, we share some valuable insights and pitfalls we encountered. More generally, this study aims to lay the groundwork for future research in the emerging field of XAI for embedded system design.
title Explainable AI for Embedded Systems Design: A Case Study of Static Redundant NVM Memory Write Prediction
topic Machine Learning
Programming Languages
Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.04337