The problem with 'explainable AI'

The first consideration when discussing transparency in AI should be data, the fuel that powers the algorithms. Companies should disclose where and how they got the data they used to fuel their AI systems' decisions. Consumers should own their data and should be privy to the myriad ways that businesses use and sell such information, which is often done without clear and conscious consumer consent. Because data is the foundation for all AI, it is valid to want to know where the data comes from and how it might explain biases and counterintuitive decisions that AI systems make. On the algorithmic side, grandstanding by IBM and other tech giants around the idea of "explainable AI" is nothing but virtue signaling that has no basis in reality.