---
_id: '54704'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: |-
    Explainability has become an important topic in computer science and
    artificial intelligence, leading to a subfield called Explainable Artificial
    Intelligence (XAI). The goal of providing or seeking explanations is to achieve
    (better) 'understanding' on the part of the explainee. However, what it means
    to 'understand' is still not clearly defined, and the concept itself is rarely
    the subject of scientific investigation. This conceptual article aims to
    present a model of forms of understanding in the context of XAI and beyond.
    From an interdisciplinary perspective bringing together computer science,
    linguistics, sociology, and psychology, a definition of understanding and its
    forms, assessment, and dynamics during the process of giving everyday
    explanations are explored. Two types of understanding are considered as
    possible outcomes of explanations, namely enabledness, 'knowing how' to do or
    decide something, and comprehension, 'knowing that' -- both in different
    degrees (from shallow to deep). Explanations regularly start with shallow
    understanding in a specific domain and can lead to deep comprehension and
    enabledness of the explanandum, which we see as a prerequisite for human users
    to gain agency. In this process, the increase of comprehension and enabledness
    are highly interdependent. Against the background of this systematization,
    special challenges of understanding in XAI are discussed.
author:
- first_name: Hendrik
  full_name: Buschmeier, Hendrik
  last_name: Buschmeier
- first_name: Heike M.
  full_name: Buhl, Heike M.
  last_name: Buhl
- first_name: Friederike
  full_name: Kern, Friederike
  last_name: Kern
- first_name: Angela
  full_name: Grimminger, Angela
  last_name: Grimminger
- first_name: Helen
  full_name: Beierling, Helen
  last_name: Beierling
- first_name: Josephine
  full_name: Fisher, Josephine
  last_name: Fisher
- first_name: André
  full_name: Groß, André
  last_name: Groß
- first_name: Ilona
  full_name: Horwath, Ilona
  last_name: Horwath
- first_name: Nils
  full_name: Klowait, Nils
  last_name: Klowait
- first_name: Stefan
  full_name: Lazarov, Stefan
  last_name: Lazarov
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: Lenke, Michael
  last_name: Lenke
- first_name: Vivien
  full_name: Lohmer, Vivien
  last_name: Lohmer
- first_name: Katharina
  full_name: Rohlfing, Katharina
  last_name: Rohlfing
- first_name: Ingrid
  full_name: Scharlau, Ingrid
  last_name: Scharlau
- first_name: Amit
  full_name: Singh, Amit
  last_name: Singh
- first_name: Lutz
  full_name: Terfloth, Lutz
  last_name: Terfloth
- first_name: Anna-Lisa
  full_name: Vollmer, Anna-Lisa
  last_name: Vollmer
- first_name: Yu
  full_name: Wang, Yu
  last_name: Wang
- first_name: Annedore
  full_name: Wilmes, Annedore
  last_name: Wilmes
- first_name: Britta
  full_name: Wrede, Britta
  last_name: Wrede
citation:
  ama: Buschmeier H, Buhl HM, Kern F, et al. Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations.
    <i>arXiv:231108760</i>. Published online 2023.
  apa: Buschmeier, H., Buhl, H. M., Kern, F., Grimminger, A., Beierling, H., Fisher,
    J., Groß, A., Horwath, I., Klowait, N., Lazarov, S., Lenke, M., Lohmer, V., Rohlfing,
    K., Scharlau, I., Singh, A., Terfloth, L., Vollmer, A.-L., Wang, Y., Wilmes, A.,
    &#38; Wrede, B. (2023). Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations. In <i>arXiv:2311.08760</i>.
  bibtex: '@article{Buschmeier_Buhl_Kern_Grimminger_Beierling_Fisher_Groß_Horwath_Klowait_Lazarov_et
    al._2023, title={Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations}, journal={arXiv:2311.08760},
    author={Buschmeier, Hendrik and Buhl, Heike M. and Kern, Friederike and Grimminger,
    Angela and Beierling, Helen and Fisher, Josephine and Groß, André and Horwath,
    Ilona and Klowait, Nils and Lazarov, Stefan and et al.}, year={2023} }'
  chicago: Buschmeier, Hendrik, Heike M. Buhl, Friederike Kern, Angela Grimminger,
    Helen Beierling, Josephine Fisher, André Groß, et al. “Forms of Understanding
    of XAI-Explanations.” <i>ArXiv:2311.08760</i>, 2023.
  ieee: H. Buschmeier <i>et al.</i>, “Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations,”
    <i>arXiv:2311.08760</i>. 2023.
  mla: Buschmeier, Hendrik, et al. “Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations.” <i>ArXiv:2311.08760</i>,
    2023.
  short: H. Buschmeier, H.M. Buhl, F. Kern, A. Grimminger, H. Beierling, J. Fisher,
    A. Groß, I. Horwath, N. Klowait, S. Lazarov, M. Lenke, V. Lohmer, K. Rohlfing,
    I. Scharlau, A. Singh, L. Terfloth, A.-L. Vollmer, Y. Wang, A. Wilmes, B. Wrede,
    ArXiv:2311.08760 (2023).
date_created: 2024-06-11T14:49:23Z
date_updated: 2024-06-11T14:52:35Z
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2311.08760'
publication: arXiv:2311.08760
status: public
title: Forms of Understanding of XAI-Explanations
type: preprint
user_id: '86589'
year: '2023'
...