AI under the hood: The role of explainability in organizational settings

Abstract: Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly embedded and connected to organizational processes and decision-making tasks. At the same time, the models that underpin contemporary AI applications are becoming progressively more complex and inscrutable. This phenomenon creates a contradiction, as delegating critical tasks requires trust-building and understanding how AI applications operate and decisions are made. To this end, explainable AI has been proposed as a set of methods that can be applied to turn the “black box” into a “glass box”. Nevertheless, in information systems research, understanding what explanations are, why they are important, and how they can create differential value has remained underexplored. The talk will focus on the role of explainability in organizational contexts and the different ways it can lead to value generation.

Short bio: Patrick Mikalef is a Professor in Data Science and Information Systems at the Department of Computer Science. In the past, he has been a Marie Skłodowska-Curie post-doctoral research fellow working on the research project “Competitive Advantage for the Data-driven Enterprise” (CADENT). He received his B.Sc. in Informatics from the Ionian University, his M.Sc. in Business Informatics from Utrecht University, and his Ph.D. in IT Strategy from the Ionian University. His research interests focus the on strategic use of information systems and IT-business value in turbulent environments. He has published his work in over 180 international conferences and peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of the Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Strategic Information systems, British Journal of Management, Information and Management, and Decision Support Systems. He serves as a senior editor of the European Journal of Information Systems and as editor of Information of Management. Patrick Mikalef is also a distinguished member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS).