UQ360 is an open-source Python toolkit designed to help data science practitioners and developers estimate, evaluate, improve, and communicate uncertainty in machine learning model predictions. It aims to make AI transparency a common practice by providing access to state-of-the-art algorithms and tools for uncertainty quantification.

How It Works

UQ360 offers an extensible framework for uncertainty quantification. It supports various algorithms for estimating uncertainty, such as meta-models augmenting scikit-learn regressors with prediction intervals and quantile regression for defining interval boundaries. The toolkit also includes metrics like Prediction Interval Coverage Probability (PICP) for model selection and evaluation, facilitating a systematic approach to managing and understanding model uncertainty.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Installation: pip install uq360 or pip install -e . after cloning the repository.
• Prerequisites: Python 3.7, Conda recommended for environment management.
• Resources: Examples and tutorials are available in the repository's examples directory.

Highlighted Details

• Provides meta-models to augment existing regressors (e.g., Gradient Boosting Regressor) with prediction intervals.
• Integrates UQ360 metrics, like PICP, for model selection via scikit-learn's GridSearchCV.
• Supports various algorithms for uncertainty estimation and communication guidance.
• Extensible design encourages contributions of new algorithms and metrics.

Maintenance & Community

• The project is actively developed by IBM.
• Community engagement is encouraged via Slack channels (#uq360-users, #uq360-developers).
• A technical paper describing UQ360 is available.

Licensing & Compatibility

• The specific license is detailed in the LICENSE file in the root directory. Compatibility for commercial use or closed-source linking should be verified against this license.

Limitations & Caveats

• The library is still in development, indicating potential for ongoing changes and instability.
• Supported Python version is limited to 3.7, which is older and may pose compatibility issues with newer libraries.