Aggregating Local Saliency Maps for Semi-Global Explainable Image Classification

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Hinns, James, Martens, David
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Hinns, James
Martens, David
author_facet Hinns, James
Martens, David
contents Deep learning dominates image classification tasks, yet understanding how models arrive at predictions remains a challenge. Much research focuses on local explanations of individual predictions, such as saliency maps, which visualise the influence of specific pixels on a model's prediction. However, reviewing many of these explanations to identify recurring patterns is infeasible, while global methods often oversimplify and miss important local behaviours. To address this, we propose Segment Attribution Tables (SATs), a method for summarising local saliency explanations into (semi-)global insights. SATs take image segments (such as "eyes" in Chihuahuas) and leverage saliency maps to quantify their influence. These segments highlight concepts the model relies on across instances and reveal spurious correlations, such as reliance on backgrounds or watermarks, even when out-of-distribution test performance sees little change. SATs can explain any classifier for which a form of saliency map can be produced, using segmentation maps that provide named segments. SATs bridge the gap between oversimplified global summaries and overly detailed local explanations, offering a practical tool for analysing and debugging image classifiers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_23247
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Aggregating Local Saliency Maps for Semi-Global Explainable Image Classification
Hinns, James
Martens, David
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Deep learning dominates image classification tasks, yet understanding how models arrive at predictions remains a challenge. Much research focuses on local explanations of individual predictions, such as saliency maps, which visualise the influence of specific pixels on a model's prediction. However, reviewing many of these explanations to identify recurring patterns is infeasible, while global methods often oversimplify and miss important local behaviours. To address this, we propose Segment Attribution Tables (SATs), a method for summarising local saliency explanations into (semi-)global insights. SATs take image segments (such as "eyes" in Chihuahuas) and leverage saliency maps to quantify their influence. These segments highlight concepts the model relies on across instances and reveal spurious correlations, such as reliance on backgrounds or watermarks, even when out-of-distribution test performance sees little change. SATs can explain any classifier for which a form of saliency map can be produced, using segmentation maps that provide named segments. SATs bridge the gap between oversimplified global summaries and overly detailed local explanations, offering a practical tool for analysing and debugging image classifiers.
title Aggregating Local Saliency Maps for Semi-Global Explainable Image Classification
topic Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.23247