Relevance score assignment for artificial neural networks

A method for assigning a relevance score to a set of items, the relevance score indicating a relevance with respect to an application of an artificial neural network composed of neurons onto the set of items so as to map the set of items onto a network output, the apparatus being configured to

• redistributing an initial relevance score derived from the network output onto the set of items by reversely propagating the initial relevance score through the artificial neural network so as to acquire a relevance score for each item,
• wherein the reverse propagation is performed in a manner so that for each neuron, preliminarily redistributed relevance scores of a set of downstream neighbor neurons of the respective neuron are distributed to a set of upstream neighbor neurons of the respective neuron using a distribution function.

A non-transitory digital storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing a method for assigning a relevance score to a set of items, the relevance score indicating a relevance with respect to an application of an artificial neural network composed of neurons onto the set of items so as to map the set of items onto a network output, the apparatus being configured to

• redistributing an initial relevance score derived from the network output onto the set of items by reversely propagating the initial relevance score through the artificial neural network so as to acquire a relevance score for each item,
• wherein the reverse propagation is performed in a manner so that for each neuron, preliminarily redistributed relevance scores of a set of downstream neighbor neurons of the respective neuron are distributed to a set of upstream neighbor neurons of the respective neuron using a distribution function,
• when said computer program is run by a computer.