A method to interpret AI might not be so interpretable after all

Some researchers see formal specifications as a way for autonomous systems to "explain themselves" to humans. But a new study finds that we aren't understanding. As autonomous systems and artificial intelligence become increasingly common in daily life, new methods are emerging to help humans check that these systems are behaving as expected. One method, called formal specifications, uses mathematical formulas that can be translated into natural-language expressions. Some researchers claim that this method can be used to spell out decisions an AI will make in a way that is interpretable to humans. MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers wanted to check such claims of interpretability. Their findings point to the opposite: Formal specifications do not seem to be interpretable by humans.