An overview of model uncertainty and variability in LLM-based sentiment analysis. Challenges, mitigation strategies and the role of explainability

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Herrera-Poyatos, David, Peláez-González, Carlos, Zuheros, Cristina, Herrera-Poyatos, Andrés, Tejedor, Virilo, Herrera, Francisco, Montes, Rosana
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Herrera-Poyatos, David
Peláez-González, Carlos
Zuheros, Cristina
Herrera-Poyatos, Andrés
Tejedor, Virilo
Herrera, Francisco
Montes, Rosana
author_facet Herrera-Poyatos, David
Peláez-González, Carlos
Zuheros, Cristina
Herrera-Poyatos, Andrés
Tejedor, Virilo
Herrera, Francisco
Montes, Rosana
contents Large Language Models (LLMs) have significantly advanced sentiment analysis, yet their inherent uncertainty and variability pose critical challenges to achieving reliable and consistent outcomes. This paper systematically explores the Model Variability Problem (MVP) in LLM-based sentiment analysis, characterized by inconsistent sentiment classification, polarization, and uncertainty arising from stochastic inference mechanisms, prompt sensitivity, and biases in training data. We analyze the core causes of MVP, presenting illustrative examples and a case study to highlight its impact. In addition, we investigate key challenges and mitigation strategies, paying particular attention to the role of temperature as a driver of output randomness and emphasizing the crucial role of explainability in improving transparency and user trust. By providing a structured perspective on stability, reproducibility, and trustworthiness, this study helps develop more reliable, explainable, and robust sentiment analysis models, facilitating their deployment in high-stakes domains such as finance, healthcare, and policymaking, among others.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_04462
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An overview of model uncertainty and variability in LLM-based sentiment analysis. Challenges, mitigation strategies and the role of explainability
Herrera-Poyatos, David
Peláez-González, Carlos
Zuheros, Cristina
Herrera-Poyatos, Andrés
Tejedor, Virilo
Herrera, Francisco
Montes, Rosana
Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
Large Language Models (LLMs) have significantly advanced sentiment analysis, yet their inherent uncertainty and variability pose critical challenges to achieving reliable and consistent outcomes. This paper systematically explores the Model Variability Problem (MVP) in LLM-based sentiment analysis, characterized by inconsistent sentiment classification, polarization, and uncertainty arising from stochastic inference mechanisms, prompt sensitivity, and biases in training data. We analyze the core causes of MVP, presenting illustrative examples and a case study to highlight its impact. In addition, we investigate key challenges and mitigation strategies, paying particular attention to the role of temperature as a driver of output randomness and emphasizing the crucial role of explainability in improving transparency and user trust. By providing a structured perspective on stability, reproducibility, and trustworthiness, this study helps develop more reliable, explainable, and robust sentiment analysis models, facilitating their deployment in high-stakes domains such as finance, healthcare, and policymaking, among others.
title An overview of model uncertainty and variability in LLM-based sentiment analysis. Challenges, mitigation strategies and the role of explainability
topic Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04462