Score: 1

Tracing Distribution Shifts with Causal System Maps

Published: October 27, 2025 | arXiv ID: 2510.23528v1

By: Joran Leest , Ilias Gerostathopoulos , Patricia Lago and more

Potential Business Impact:

Finds why computer learning makes mistakes.

Business Areas:
Predictive Analytics Artificial Intelligence, Data and Analytics, Software

Monitoring machine learning (ML) systems is hard, with standard practice focusing on detecting distribution shifts rather than their causes. Root-cause analysis often relies on manual tracing to determine whether a shift is caused by software faults, data-quality issues, or natural change. We propose ML System Maps -- causal maps that, through layered views, make explicit the propagation paths between the environment and the ML system's internals, enabling systematic attribution of distribution shifts. We outline the approach and a research agenda for its development and evaluation.

Country of Origin
🇳🇱 🇮🇹 Italy, Netherlands

Page Count
6 pages

Category
Computer Science:
Software Engineering