LLMs for Explainable AI: A Comprehensive Survey

Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a promising approach to enhancing Explainable AI (XAI) by transforming complex machine learning outputs into easy-to-understand narratives, making model predictions more accessible to users, and helping bridge the gap between sophisticated model behavior and human interpretability. AI models, such as state-of-the-art neural networks and deep learning models, are often seen as "black boxes" due to a lack of transparency. As users cannot fully understand how the models reach conclusions, users have difficulty trusting decisions from AI models, which leads to less effective decision-making processes, reduced accountabilities, and unclear potential biases. A challenge arises in developing explainable AI (XAI) models to gain users' trust and provide insights into how models generate their outputs. With the development of Large Language Models, we want to explore the possibilities of using human language-based models, LLMs, for model explainabilities. This survey provides a comprehensive overview of existing approaches regarding LLMs for XAI, and evaluation techniques for LLM-generated explanation, discusses the corresponding challenges and limitations, and examines real-world applications. Finally, we discuss future directions by emphasizing the need for more interpretable, automated, user-centric, and multidisciplinary approaches for XAI via LLMs.

Cross-referencing Social Media and Public Surveillance Camera Data for Disaster Response

Physical media (like surveillance cameras) and social media (like Instagram and Twitter) may both be useful in attaining on-the-ground information during an emergency or disaster situation. However, the intersection and reliability of both surveillance cameras and social media during a natural disaster are not fully understood. To address this gap, we tested whether social media is of utility when physical surveillance cameras went off-line during Hurricane Irma in 2017. Specifically, we collected and compared geo-tagged Instagram and Twitter posts in the state of Florida during times and in areas where public surveillance cameras went off-line. We report social media content and frequency and content to determine the utility for emergency managers or first responders during a natural disaster.