Different "Intelligibility" for Different Folks

Abstract

Many arguments have concluded that our autonomous technologies must be intelligible, interpretable, or explainable, even if that property comes at a performance cost. In this paper, we consider the reasons why some property like these might be valuable, we conclude that there is not simply one kind of 'intelligibility', but rather different types for different individuals and uses. In particular, different interests and goals require different types of intelligibility (or explanations, or other related notion). We thus provide a typography of 'intelligibility' that distinguishes various notions, and draw methodological conclusions about how autonomous technologies should be designed and deployed in different ways, depending on whose intelligibility is required.