When black box models are used

The complexity of black box models enables them to handle vast amounts of information and identify patterns that humans might miss, but it comes at the cost of understanding how decisions are made. They're particularly popular for tasks like image recognition, language translation, recommendation systems, and voice assistants. Companies sometimes choose black box models because they believe these models offer better accuracy, especially for complex problems.

In some cases, companies prefer black box models because they keep their methods secret, protecting their business advantage. However, in areas where decisions greatly affect people's lives, such as loan approvals, medical diagnosis, or criminal justice, using unexplainable models creates serious ethical concerns, since people affected by these decisions deserve to understand how they were made.