AI, Explain Yourself

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are taking over a vast array of tasks that previously depended on human expertise and judgment. Often, however, the "reasoning" behind their actions is unclear, and can produce surprising errors or reinforce biased processes. One way to address this issue is to make AI "explainable" to humans--for example, designers who can improve it or let users better know when to trust it. Although the best styles of explanation for different purposes are still being studied, they will profoundly shape how future AI is used. Some explainable AI, or XAI, has long been familiar, as part of online recommender systems: book purchasers or movie viewers see suggestions for additional selections described as having certain similar attributes, or being chosen by similar users.