Deep Learning for Expert Knowledge Elicitation: A New Approach to Quantifying Uncertainty

Wednesday 12 March 2025


Deep learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, has been making waves in recent years by achieving remarkable results in tasks such as image recognition and natural language processing. However, one area where deep learning has been less explored is in expert knowledge elicitation.


Expert knowledge elicitation is the process of extracting and quantifying the uncertain judgments made by experts in a particular field. This is crucial because many real-world decisions rely on the input of experts, who often possess valuable but intangible knowledge that can be difficult to quantify. Traditional methods for eliciting expert judgment have limitations, such as relying on subjective assessments or being time-consuming.


A recent study has proposed an innovative approach to expert knowledge elicitation using deep learning models. The researchers demonstrated how these models can effectively model expert decision-making and elicit distributions that capture expert uncertainty.


The study begins by collecting data on expert decisions in a specific domain. For example, in the medical field, this could involve gathering data on doctors’ diagnoses or treatments for patients with certain conditions. The deep learning model is then trained on this data to learn patterns and relationships between the inputs and outputs of the experts.


Once trained, the model can be used to generate predictions or recommendations based on new input data. But what’s remarkable about this approach is that it also provides a measure of uncertainty associated with these predictions. This is achieved by modeling the variability in expert judgments, which allows for the quantification of uncertainty.


The researchers tested their approach using data from the medical field, specifically in the diagnosis of colon cancer. They found that the deep learning model was able to accurately predict the likelihood of colon cancer based on patient data, and also provided a measure of uncertainty associated with these predictions.


This has significant implications for decision-making in medicine, as it allows clinicians to make more informed decisions about treatment options or further testing. Moreover, the approach can be applied to other domains where expert judgment is critical, such as finance or environmental policy.


One potential limitation of this approach is that it relies on large amounts of high-quality data to train the model. However, advances in machine learning and data collection have made it increasingly feasible to gather and utilize such datasets.


In summary, a new approach to expert knowledge elicitation using deep learning models has been proposed, which holds significant promise for improving decision-making in various fields. By quantifying uncertainty and capturing the variability in expert judgments, this approach can provide valuable insights that were previously difficult or impossible to obtain.


Cite this article: “Deep Learning for Expert Knowledge Elicitation: A New Approach to Quantifying Uncertainty”, The Science Archive, 2025.


Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Expert Knowledge Elicitation, Uncertainty Quantification, Decision-Making, Image Recognition, Natural Language Processing, Medical Diagnosis, Colon Cancer, Machine Learning.


Reference: Julia R. Falconer, Eibe Frank, Devon L. L. Polaschek, Chaitanya Joshi, “Utilising Deep Learning to Elicit Expert Uncertainty” (2025).


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