Abstract The emergence of hybrid quantum-classical machine learning (HQML) models opens new horizons of computational intelligence but their fundamental complexity frequently leads to black box behavior that undermines transparency and reliability in their application. Although XAI for quantum systems still in its infancy, a major research gap is evident in robust global and local explainability approaches that are designed for HQML architectures that employ quantized feature encoding followed by classical learning. The gap is the focus of this work, which introduces QuXAI, an framework based upon Q-MEDLEY, an explainer for explaining feature importance in these hybrid systems. Our model entails the creation of HQML models incorporating quantum feature maps, the use of Q-MEDLEY, which combines feature based inferences, preserving the quantum transformation stage and visualizing the resulting attributions. Our result shows that Q-MEDLEY delineates influential classical aspects in HQML models, as well as separates their noise, and competes well against established XAI techniques in classical validation settings. Ablation studies more significantly expose the virtues of the composite structure used in Q-MEDLEY. The implications of this work are critically important, as it provides a route to improve the interpretability and reliability of HQML models, thus promoting greater confidence and being able to engage in safer and more responsible use of quantum-enhanced AI technology. Our code and experiments are open-sourced at: https://github.com/GitsSaikat/QuXAI
Abstract The emergence of hybrid quantum-classical machine learning (HQML) models opens new horizons of computational intelligence but their fundamental complexity frequently leads to black box behavior that undermines transparency and reliability in their application. Although XAI for quantum systems still in its infancy, a major research gap is evident in robust global and local explainability approaches that are designed for HQML architectures that employ quantized feature encoding followed by classical learning. The gap is the focus of this work, which introduces QuXAI, an framework based upon Q-MEDLEY, an explainer for explaining feature importance in these hybrid systems. Our model entails the creation of HQML models incorporating quantum feature maps, the use of Q-MEDLEY, which combines feature based inferences, preserving the quantum transformation stage and visualizing the resulting attributions. Our result shows that Q-MEDLEY delineates influential classical aspects in HQML models, as well as separates their noise, and competes well against established XAI techniques in classical validation settings. Ablation studies more significantly expose the virtues of the composite structure used in Q-MEDLEY. The implications of this work are critically important, as it provides a route to improve the interpretability and reliability of HQML models, thus promoting greater confidence and being able to engage in safer and more responsible use of quantum-enhanced AI technology. Our code and experiments are open-sourced at: https://github.com/GitsSaikat/QuXAI
This research paper explores the explainability of decision-making in hybrid quantum–classical classification models. Quantum Machine Learning (QML) combines the power of quantum computing with classical machine learning techniques to solve complex computational problems. However, understanding how these hybrid models make decisions remains a significant challenge. The study focuses on analyzing hybrid quantum–classical architectures and evaluating methods that improve the interpretability of their predictions. Techniques from Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) are applied to investigate the internal decision-making processes of the models. The research also compares classical machine learning approaches with quantum-enhanced models to understand their performance and transparency. The results demonstrate that explainability techniques can help researchers better interpret model predictions, identify important features, and improve trust in hybrid quantum–classical systems. This work contributes to the development of transparent and reliable quantum machine learning applications in areas such as healthcare, finance, and data analytics.
Background: The emergent need for scalable artificial intelligence (AI) models emphasizes the shortcomings of traditional machine learning in dealing with big, complicated datasets owing to computation and energy limitations. Objective: The architecture takes advantage of quantum encoding methods like amplitude and angle encoding for compact feature representation, with classical preprocessing providing compatibility and stability. Methods: To overcome these issues, this research introduces a Hybrid Quantum-Classical Machine Learning (HQML) framework that combines Quantum Variational Classifiers (QVCs) and Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks (QCNNs) with classical deep learning layers. Results: Experiments were performed on pre-curated datasets taken from the Scikit Machine Learning Repository, with hybrid models compared to classical Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The implementation was done with PennyLane using TensorFlow Quantum for compatibility with noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) machines. The comparative analysis identified that the suggested HQML model achieves significant performance gains, as classification accuracy increased from 73 percent in the baseline classical CNN to 98% in the hybrid model. Precision also went up from 77 to 96 percent, recall from 81 to 100 percent, and F1-score from 79 to 98 percent. These findings confirm the ability of the model to leverage quantum benefits for extracting complicated data distributions without losing stability through classical components. The findings confirm the viability of HQML to real-world finance, healthcare, and intelligent automation applications where scalability and precision matter. Conclusion: This research establishes that quantum-classical integration not only minimizes training overhead but also attains near-perfect classification efficiency with constrained qubit resources. The research aids in filling the gap between theoretical quantum potential and deployable practical AI, opening the door for next-generation quantum-boosted intelligence.
Hybrid quantum-classical machine learning (HQML) models represent an emerging computational paradigm that combines the strengths of quantum computing and classical artificial intelligence to solve complex learning problems more efficiently.Quantum computing offers massive parallelism, superposition, and entanglement, enabling computational capabilities beyond classical systems for selected tasks.However, current quantum hardware remains limited by noise, decoherence, and scalability constraints.Hybrid architectures overcome these limitations by integrating quantum processors with classical machine learning frameworks, allowing practical implementation on Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices.This review paper presents a comprehensive study of hybrid quantum-classical machine learning models, including their architecture, working principles, quantum circuits, optimization techniques, and applications in healthcare, cybersecurity, finance, robotics, and big data analytics.The paper also discusses quantum neural networks, variational quantum circuits, quantum support vector machines, and quantum generative models.Furthermore, comparative analysis between classical and hybrid quantum systems is presented to evaluate performance, scalability, computational efficiency, and implementation challenges.Major issues such as quantum noise, hardware limitations, algorithm complexity, and high operational cost are examined in detail.Finally, future research directions and emerging trends in hybrid quantum-classical computing are discussed.The review concludes that HQML models have the potential to revolutionize next-generation intelligent computing systems.
The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has heightened concerns about the opacity of decision-making processes in complex models, particularly deep neural networks. This research explores a novel paradigm that integrates quantum computing principles into Explainable AI (XAI) to enhance interpretability without compromising predictive accuracy. The study introduces a Quantum-inspired Interpretable Model (QIIM) framework that leverages Hilbert space embeddings, unitary transformations, and operator-based learning to represent knowledge in a mathematically transparent form. The proposed model computes interpretability through the expectation values of observable operators, enabling the decomposition of decisions into quantifiable, human-understandable components. To capture hierarchical relationships, a Tensor Network Interpretable Model (TNIM) is further developed, offering scalable insights into complex dependencies among features. Experimental evaluations—performed on benchmark datasets for decision-making tasks—demonstrate that the quantum-inspired models achieve competitive accuracy while significantly improving local and global interpretability metrics compared to classical XAI techniques. The findings underscore the potential of quantum formalism as a new foundation for transparent AI systems, bridging the gap between computational efficiency and explainability. This study contributes to both theoretical understanding and practical advancement in interpretable machine learning, paving the way for ethically aligned, transparent, and human-trustworthy AI-driven decision support systems.
In recent years, machine learning has achieved remarkable success in tasks such as image classification and solving complex real-world problems. The achievements of deep neural networks (DNNs) have led to the widespread adoption of block-based architectures. However, as the demand for Explainable AI (XAI) grows, there is a need for models that provide greater transparency and interpretability. Our work addresses this need by exploring the potential of quantum-classical hybrid models. By integrating classical neural networks (ClaNNs) with quantum neural networks (QNNs), we aim to develop AI systems that are not only powerful but also interpretable. We propose a framework that combines parameterized quantum circuits (PQCs) with classical layers to create a hybrid block design for QNNs. By adding a linear layer after the PQCs, the flexibility of the block design is increased. This architecture enhances the adaptability of QNN design and facilitates the integration of XAI principles through the comparison of the loss function planes. Our training method, inspired by knowledge distillation, addresses existing challenges in PQC-based QNN designs, providing insights into the optimization landscape. We validate the effectiveness of our hybrid block through experiments on standard datasets, demonstrating its potential to achieve comparable accuracy to traditional DNNs while providing improved interpretability.
Abstract As machine learning grows increasingly complex due to big data and deep learning, model explainability has become essential to fostering user trust. Quantum machine learning (QML) has emerged as a promising field, leveraging quantum computing to enhance classical machine learning methods, particularly through quantum representation learning (QRL). QRL aims to provide more efficient and powerful machine learning capabilities on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. However, interpreting QRL models poses significant challenges due to the reliance on quantum gate-based parameterized circuits, which, while analogous to classical neural network layers, operate in the quantum domain. To address these challenges, we propose an explainable QRL framework combining a quantum autoencoder (QAE) with a variational quantum classifier (VQC) and incorporating theoretical and empirical explainability for image data. Our dual approach enhances model interpretability by integrating visual explanations via local interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIME) and analytical insights using Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP). These complementary methods provide a deeper understanding of the model’s decision-making process based on prediction outcomes. Experimental evaluations on simulators and superconducting quantum hardware validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for classification tasks, underscoring the importance of explainable representation learning in advancing QML towards more transparent and reliable applications.