Graspable AI: Physical Forms as Explanation Modality for Explainable AI

Explainable AI (XAI) seeks to disclose how an AI system arrives at its outcomes. But the nature of the disclosure depends in part on who needs to understand the AI and the available explanation modalities (e.g., verbal and visual). Users' preferences regarding explanation modalities might differ, as some might prefer spoken explanations compared to visual ones. However, we argue for broadening the explanation modalities, to consider also tangible and physical forms. In traditional product design, physical forms have mediated people's interactions with objects; more recently interacting with physical forms has become prominent with IoT and smart devices, such as smart lighting and robotic vacuum cleaners. But how tangible interaction can support AI explanations is not yet well understood. In this second studio proposal on Graspable AI (GAI) we seek to explore design qualities of physical forms [12] as an explanation modality for XAI. We anticipate that the design qualities of physical forms and their tangible interactivity can not only contribute to the explainability of AI through facilitating dialogue [5], relationships [18] and human empowerment [15], but they can also contribute to critical and reflective discourses on AI [2, 13]. Therefore, this proposal contributes to design agendas that expand explainable AI into tangible modalities, supporting a more diverse range of users in their understanding of how a given AI works and the meanings of its outcomes.