A systematic review published in Ethics and Information Technology(Nannini et al., 2024) examines the relationship between XAI research and ethical considerations.
The study conducts a systematic review of XAI literature by applying a multi-stage filtering process and developing a taxonomy to classify the depth and quality of ethical engagement in the field.
The results show that, although a growing body of XAI research refers to ethical issues, the majority does so at a superficial level. Nine ethical themes are identified (autonomy, justice, transparency, etc.) and it is shown how they are addressed in the literature. The study highlights trends, deficits, and future directions for meaningfully integrating ethical considerations into XAI research.
References
2024
Mapping the landscape of ethical considerations in explainable AI research
Luca
Nannini, Marta
Marchiori Manerba, and Isacco
Beretta
With its potential to contribute to the ethical governance of AI, explainable AI (XAI) research frequently asserts its relevance to ethical considerations. Yet the substantiation of these claims with rigorous ethical analysis and reflection remains largely unexamined. This contribution endeavours to scrutinise the relationship between XAI and ethical considerations. We conduct a systematic review of the XAI literature by applying a multi-stage filtering process and then developing a taxonomy for classifying the depth and quality of ethical engagement in the field. Our findings show that although a growing body of XAI research references ethical issues, the majority does so at a superficial level. We identify nine ethical themes (e.g., autonomy, justice, transparency) and show how they are engaged in the literature. We discuss trends, deficits, and future directions for integrating ethical considerations meaningfully into XAI research.
@article{NMB2024,author={Nannini, Luca and Marchiori Manerba, Marta and Beretta, Isacco},doi={10.1007/s10676-024-09773-7},issn={1572-8439},journal={Ethics and Information Technology},line={1,5},month=jun,number={3},open_access={Gold},publisher={Springer Science and Business Media LLC},title={Mapping the landscape of ethical considerations in explainable AI research},visible_on_website={YES},volume={26},year={2024}}
