Towards a Praxis for Intercultural Ethics in Explainable AI

Other research has also noted the concentration of AI research and development within the Western world [13, 48] and how AI systems primarily embed the cultural values and practices of people within these respective regions, alienating certain groups of users and causing cultural harm [52]. While the development, use, and implementation of AI has transcended borders, a limited amount of work focuses on democratizing the concept of explainable AI to the "majority world" [4], leaving much room to explore and develop new approaches within this space that cater to the distinct needs of users within this region. This article introduces the concept of an intercultural ethics approach to AI explainability. It examines how cultural nuances impact the adoption and use of technology, the factors that impede how technical concepts such as AI are explained, and how integrating an intercultural ethics approach in the development of XAI can improve user understanding and facilitate efficient usage of these methods. We first discuss what it means to explain, reviewing relevant literature within explainable AI and introducing intercultural ethics. We then highlight barriers that impact explainable AI. Next, we introduce the concept of using intercultural ethics to inform AI explainability, outlining steps for researchers interested in leveraging this approach. We conclude the paper by reflecting on the prospect of an intercultural ethics approach to XAI, the limitations of such an approach, and potential areas to build upon this work.