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Automated Dependence Plots

In practical applications of machine learning, it is necessary to look beyond standard metrics such as test accuracy in order to validate various qualitative properties of a model. Partial dependence plots (PDP), including instance-specific PDPs (i.e., ICE plots), have been widely used as a visual tool to understand or validate a model. Yet, current PDPs suffer from two main drawbacks: (1) a user must manually sort or select interesting plots, and (2) PDPs are usually limited to plots along a single feature. To address these drawbacks, we formalize a method for automating the selection of interesting PDPs and extend PDPs beyond showing single features to show the model response along arbitrary directions, for example in raw feature space or a latent space arising from some generative model. We demonstrate the usefulness of our automated dependence plots (ADP) across multiple use-cases and datasets including model selection, bias detection, understanding out-of-sample behavior, and exploring the latent space of a generative model.