Abstract

This article focuses on what it means to generate actionable but non-sharable information, and how this might relate to our understanding of what counts as knowledge, which typically entails some form of explanation. As automated systems sort and classify us for the purposes of dating, education, employment, health care, security, and more, we are going to want to know how and why these decisions are being made. Or, failing that, we will at least want to know, with as much clarity as possible, under what circumstances and to what uses, automated systems are being put to use. In either case, the role of narrative is inseparable from the call for transparency.