Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Ambient Explanations: Ambient Intelligence and Explainable AI

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Ambient Intelligence (AmI 2019)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 11912))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

With renewed prominence of Explainable AI (XAI), many areas are revisiting early work on Explainability. Within the broader field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ambient Intelligence (AmI) has an advantage in the development of transparent and ethical systems because such work has long been an integral part of research, development and operations in AmI. In this paper we argue that, because of the paradigm requirements of system intelligence, social intelligence and embeddedness, AmI is uniquely prepared to support the push for ethical and transparent technology development. We argue that Ambient Intelligent Systems are well suited to infer when an explanation might be needed (and of what kind), and the form that it should take. We further propose AmI devices as mediators between humans and machines because they can combine social and technical systems in a fully embedded way.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Achinstein, P.: The Nature of Explanation. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Biran, O., Cotton, C.: Explanation and justification in machine learning: a survey. In: IJCAI 2017 Workshop on Explainable AI (XAI) (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cassens, J., Kofod-Petersen, A.: Explanations and case-based reasoning in ambient intelligent systems. In: Wilson, D.C., Khemani, D. (eds.) ICCBR 2007 Workshop Proceedings, Belfast, Northern Ireland, pp. 167–176 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Cassens, J., Wegener, R.: Making use of abstract concepts–systemic-functional linguistics and ambient intelligence. In: Bramer, M. (ed.) IFIP AI 2008. ITIFIP, vol. 276, pp. 205–214. Springer, Boston, MA (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09695-7_20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. De Ruyter, B., Aarts, E.: Experience research: a methodology for developing human-centered interfaces. In: Nakashima, H., Aghajan, H., Augusto, J.C. (eds.) Handbook of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, pp. 1039–1067. Springer, Boston (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93808-0_39

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Dourish, P.: What we talk about when we talk about context. Pers. Ubiquit. Comput. 8(1), 19–30 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Edwards, B.J., Williams, J.J., Gentner, D., Lombrozo, T.: Explanation recruits comparison in a category-learning task. Cognition 185, 21–38 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Floridi, L., et al.: AI4people – an ethical framework for a good ai society: opportunities, risks, principles, and recommendations. Mind. Mach. 28(4), 689–707 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. van Fraassen, B.C.: The Scientific Image. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1980)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Gunning, D., Aha, D.: Darpa’s explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) program. AI Mag. 40(2), 44–58 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Halliday, M.A.: Language as a Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. University Park Press, Baltimore (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Hasan, R.: Situation and the definition of genre. In: Grimshaw, A. (ed.) What’s Going on Here? Complementary Analysis of Professional Talk: Volume 2 of the Multiple Analysis Project. Ablex, Norwood (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hasan, R.: Speaking with reference to context. In: Ghadessy, M. (ed.) Text and Context in Functional Linguistics. John Benjamins, Amsterdam (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kofod-Petersen, A., Aamodt, A.: Contextualised ambient intelligence through case-based reasoning. In: Roth-Berghofer, T.R., Göker, M.H., Güvenir, H.A. (eds.) ECCBR 2006. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 4106, pp. 211–225. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/11805816_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Kofod-Petersen, A., Cassens, J.: Modelling with problem frames: explanations and context in ambient intelligent systems. In: Beigl, M., Christiansen, H., Roth-Berghofer, T.R., Kofod-Petersen, A., Coventry, K.R., Schmidtke, H.R. (eds.) CONTEXT 2011. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 6967, pp. 145–158. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24279-3_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  16. Leake, D.B.: Evaluating Explanations: A Content Theory. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Leake, D.B.: Goal-based explanation evaluation. In: Goal-Driven Learning, pp. 251–285. MIT Press, Cambridge (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Lisboa, P.J.G.: Interpretability in machine learning – principles and practice. In: Masulli, F., Pasi, G., Yager, R. (eds.) WILF 2013. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 8256, pp. 15–21. Springer, Cham (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03200-9_2

    Chapter  MATH  Google Scholar 

  19. Lombrozo, T.: The structure and function of explanations. Trends Cogn. Sci. 10(10), 464–470 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lombrozo, T.: The instrumental value of explanations. Philos. Compass 6(8), 539–551 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Miller, T.: Explanation in artificial intelligence: insights from the social sciences. Artif. Intell. (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Roth-Berghofer, T.R., Cassens, J.: Mapping goals and kinds of explanations to the knowledge containers of case-based reasoning systems. In: Muñoz-Ávila, H., Ricci, F. (eds.) ICCBR 2005. LNCS (LNAI), vol. 3620, pp. 451–464. Springer, Heidelberg (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/11536406_35

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  23. Schank, R.C.: Explanation Patterns - Understanding Mechanically and Creatively. Lawrence Erlbaum, New York (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Shortliffe, E.H.: Computer-based Medical Consultations: MYCIN, New York (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Streitz, N., Charitos, D., Kaptein, M., Böhlen, M.: Grand challenges for ambient intelligence and implications for design contexts and smart societies. J. Ambient. Intell. Smart Environ. 11(1), 87–107 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Swartout, W.R.: What kind of expert should a system be? XPLAIN: a system for creating and explaining expert consulting programs. Artif. Intell. 21, 285–325 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Sørmo, F., Cassens, J., Aamodt, A.: Explanation in case-based reasoning - perspectives and goals. Artif. Intell. Rev. 24(2), 109–143 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Vasilyeva, N., Wilkenfeld, D., Lombrozo, T.: Contextual utility affects the perceived quality of explanations. Psychon. Bull. Rev. 24(5), 1436–1450 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Wegener, R., Cassens, J., Butt, D.: Start making sense: systemic functional linguistics and ambient intelligence. Rev. d’Intelligence Artif. 22(5), 629–645 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3166/ria.22.629-645

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hildesheim, 31141, Hildesheim, Germany

    Jörg Cassens

  2. Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, 5020, Salzburg, Austria

    Rebekah Wegener

Authors
  1. Jörg Cassens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebekah Wegener
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jörg Cassens .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Ioannis Chatzigiannakis

  2. Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris De Ruyter

  3. Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece

    Irene Mavrommati

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Cassens, J., Wegener, R. (2019). Ambient Explanations: Ambient Intelligence and Explainable AI. In: Chatzigiannakis, I., De Ruyter, B., Mavrommati, I. (eds) Ambient Intelligence. AmI 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11912. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34255-5_30

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34255-5_30

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34254-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34255-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships