Social Construction of XAI: Do We Need One Definition to Rule Them All?
This addresses the problem of definitional confusion in XAI for researchers and developers, but it is incremental as it builds on existing social construction theories.
The paper argues that a single definition of explainable AI (XAI) is neither feasible nor desirable at this stage, as diverse stakeholders have different interpretations that shape its meaning, and forcing standardization too early could stifle innovation.
There is a growing frustration amongst researchers and developers in Explainable AI (XAI) around the lack of consensus around what is meant by 'explainability'. Do we need one definition of explainability to rule them all? In this paper, we argue why a singular definition of XAI is neither feasible nor desirable at this stage of XAI's development. We view XAI through the lenses of Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) to explicate how diverse stakeholders (relevant social groups) have different interpretations (interpretative flexibility) that shape the meaning of XAI. Forcing a standardization (closure) on the pluralistic interpretations too early can stifle innovation and lead to premature conclusions. We share how we can leverage the pluralism to make progress in XAI without having to wait for a definitional consensus.