Assistant Professor of Computer Science Alina Barnett has received a $25,000 research grant to improve how artificial intelligence models reason through breast cancer diagnoses, the Rhode Island Foundation announced Monday. Barnett is one of 14 URI researchers sharing in total of $650,000 in medical research grants awarded to 26 projects statewide.

Barnett’s work targets the problem of AI models that reach correct diagnoses for incorrect reasons. A model might flag a cancerous image correctly while focusing on the wrong part of the scan or learn to interpret the mammograms from one model of mammography machine differently than those from another model. “Sometimes the AI gets the right answer for the wrong reason,” Barnett said to Rhode Island Current. “It’s not OK to be right on average, or usually right. You really want to be consistently right for every patient.” Her research focuses on developing specialized methods to correct flawed reasoning in diagnostic imaging models without disrupting the entire model, a challenge she describes as far harder than simply detecting the errors in the first place.

The grant will fund graduate student research time this summer and allow Barnett’s team to collaborate with radiologists and present findings at conferences.