Explainable AI-Based Intrusion Detection Systems for Industry 5.0 and Adversarial XAI: A Systematic Review

Industry 5.0 represents a paradigm shift toward human–AI collaboration in manufacturing, incorporating unprecedented volumes of robots, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) systems, and smart devices. This extensive interconnectivity introduces significant cybersecurity vulnerabilities. While AI has proven effective for cybersecurity applications, including intrusion detection, malware identification, and phishing prevention, cybersecurity professionals have shown reluctance toward adopting black-box machine learning solutions due to their opacity. This hesitation has accelerated the development of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques that provide transparency into AI decision-making processes. This systematic review examines XAI-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) for Industry 5.0 environments. We analyze how explainability impacts cybersecurity through the critical lens of adversarial XAI (Adv-XIDS) approaches. Our comprehensive analysis of 135 studies investigates XAI’s influence on both advanced deep learning and traditional shallow architectures for intrusion detection. We identify key challenges, opportunities, and research directions for implementing trustworthy XAI-based cybersecurity solutions in high-stakes Industry 5.0 applications. This rigorous analysis establishes a foundational framework to guide future research in this rapidly evolving domain.