Explaining AI through mechanistic interpretability

Title data

Kästner, Lena ; Crook, Barnaby:
Explaining AI through mechanistic interpretability.
In: European Journal for Philosophy of Science. Vol. 14 (2024) Issue 4 . - 52.
ISSN 1879-4920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-024-00614-4

Project information

Abstract in another language

Recent work in explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) attempts to render opaque AI systems understandable through a divide-and-conquer strategy. However, this fails to illuminate how trained AI systems work as a whole. Precisely this kind of functional understanding is needed, though, to satisfy important societal desiderata such as safety. To remedy this situation, we argue, AI researchers should seek mechanistic interpretability, viz. apply coordinated discovery strategies familiar from the life sciences to uncover the functional organisation of complex AI systems. Additionally, theorists should accommodate for the unique costs and benefits of such strategies in their portrayals of XAI research.