[FIXED] Update scikit model so it is compatible with newest version

Issue

I have a question about scikit models and (retro-)compatibility.

I have a model (saved using joblib) created in Python 3.5 from scikit-learn 0.21.2, which I then analyze with the package shap version 0.30. Since I upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04 I have Python 3.8 (and newer versions of both scikit-learn and shap). Because of the new packages version I cannot load them with Python 3.8, so I make a virtual environment with Py3.5 and the original package versions.

Now my question is: is there a way to re-dump with joblib the models so I can also open them with Python 3.8? I'd like to re-analyze the model with the newest version of the package shap (but of course it has a scikit version requirement that would break the joblib loading).

Alternatively, what other options do I have? (The only thing I do not want is to re-train the model).

Solution

There are no standard solutions within scikit-learn. If your model is supported, you can try sklearn-json.

Although this does not solve your current issue, you can in the future save your models in formats with fewer compatibility issues – see the Interoperable formats section in scikit-learn's Model persistence page.

Answered By - David M.