Explaining decisions made with AI

This co-badged guidance by the ICO and The Alan Turing Institute aims to give organisations practical advice to help explain the processes, services and decisions delivered or assisted by AI, to the individuals affected by them.  

At a glance 

Increasingly, organisations are using artificial intelligence (AI) to support, or to make decisions about individuals. If this is something you do, or something you are thinking about, this guidance is for you.

The guidance consists of three parts. Depending on your level of expertise, and the make-up of your organisation, some parts may be more relevant to you than others.

Part 1: The basics of explaining AI  Aimed at DPOs and compliance teams, part one defines the key concepts and outlines a number of different types of explanations. It will be relevant for all members of staff involved in the development of AI systems.

Part 2: Explaining AI in practice Aimed at technical teams, part two helps you with the practicalities of explaining these decisions and providing explanations to individuals. This will primarily be helpful for the technical teams in your organisation, however your DPO and compliance team will also find it useful.

Part 3: What explaining AI means for your organisation  Aimed at senior management, part three goes into the various roles, policies, procedures and documentation that you can put in place to ensure your organisation is set up to provide meaningful explanations to affected individuals. This is primarily targeted at your organisation’s senior management team, however your DPO and compliance team will also find it useful.