arXiv Machine Learning

Partially Interpretable Decision Trees

arXiv AI
Oct 9

Towards Scalable Meta-Learning of near-optimal Interpretable Models via Synthetic Model Generations

The paper presents a scalable method for meta‑learning interpretable decision trees by generating synthetic pre‑training data. It samples near‑optimal trees to create large, realistic datasets and uses the MetaTree transformer architecture to match the performance of real‑world pre‑training or costly optimal tree training. This approach cuts computational costs, offers flexible data generation, and supports efficient, scalable meta‑learning of decision trees.

By Kyaw Hpone Myint, Zhe Wu, Alexandre G. R. Day, Giri Iyengar
arXiv AI
Oct 27

The Hitchhiker's Guide to System 1 Models: Fast Decision-Making Beyond LLMS

The paper introduces System 1 models—fast, single‑pass decision engines that map inputs directly to structured outputs, addressing the latency, cost, and calibration issues of large language models. It presents a five‑family taxonomy (encoder‑based classifiers, reward models, non‑autoregressive engines, contrastive models, and extraction models) and discusses training, deployment trade‑offs, and calibration theory, including proper scoring rules and RLCD. The guide also covers integration into agentic workflows, System 1+System 2 cascades, 18 application domains, an open‑source ecosystem, and practical resources such as code, a model zoo, and assessment questions.

By Haggai Roitman
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 6

ArborEnum: Decision Tree Rashomon Sets over Continuous Features

arXiv:2608. 04310v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The Rashomon effect describes the phenomenon that many models can achieve nearly equivalent performance on the same learning task, with significant ramifications for robustness, feature importance, and customizability.

By Zakk Heile, Hayden McTavish, Margo Seltzer, Cynthia Rudin
arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 9

MotherTree: Meta-learning on synthetic data improves decision tree training

MotherTree is a tabular transformer that meta‑learns to produce hard, axis‑aligned decision trees in a single forward pass. It is pre‑trained on a synthetic prior distribution using stochastic gradient descent, without needing reference trees for supervision. On controlled benchmarks, MotherTree matches or surpasses size‑matched trees from traditional algorithms and serves as a strong initializer for task‑specific fine‑tuning.

By Ziyuan Wang, Fredrik D. Johansson
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 5

Quantifying Sensitivity for Tree Ensembles: A symbolic and compositional approach

arXiv:2605. 13830v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Decision tree ensembles (DTE) are a popular model for a wide range of AI classification tasks, used in multiple safety critical domains, and hence verifying properties on these models has been an active topic of study over the last decade.

By Ajinkya Naik, Chaitanya Garg, S. Akshay, Ashutosh Gupta, Kuldeep S. Meel
arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 8

From Prompts to Trees: Effective LLM-Guided Tree Generation for Few-Shot Tabular Classification

The paper introduces a three‑stage framework that uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate rules and assemble them into decision trees for few‑shot tabular classification. By distilling LLM knowledge into interpretable trees, the method avoids the high inference costs and limited interpretability of direct LLM application while outperforming traditional decision trees in low‑data settings. Experiments on real‑world datasets show superior accuracy and interpretability with lower prompting overhead compared to existing baselines.

By Yue Qiu, Zekang Du, Yiqun Diao, Bingsheng He, Qinbin Li
arXiv AI
1d ago

The Standard Interpretable Model: Design interpretable machine learning methods from elementary symmetries

arXiv:2606.12289v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: As Artificial Intelligence models grow in complexity, interpretability has become an indispensable tool for understanding, debugging, and con...

By Pietro Barbiero, Giovanni De Felice, Mateo Espinosa Zarlenga, Francesco Giannini, Filippo Bonchi, Mateja Jamnik, Giuseppe Marra, Ruggero Noris