Outlining Traceability: A Principle for Operationalizing Accountability in Computing Systems

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3442188.3445937 ; Accountability is widely understood as a goal for well governed computer systems, and is a sought-after value in many governance contexts. But how can it be achieved? Recent work on standards for governable artificial intelligence systems offers a related prin ciple: traceability. Traceability requires establishing not only how a system worked but how it was created and for what purpose, in a way that explains why a system has particular dynamics or behav iors. It connects records of how the system was constructed and what the system did mechanically to the broader goals of gover nance, in a way that highlights human understanding of that me chanical operation and the decision processes underlying it. We examine the various ways in which the principle of traceability has been articulated in AI principles and other policy documents from around the world, distill from these a set of requirements on software systems driven by the principle, and systematize the tech nologies available to meet those requirements. From our map of requirements to supporting tools, techniques, and procedures, we identify gaps and needs separating what traceability requires from the toolbox available for practitioners. This map reframes existing discussions around accountability and transparency, using the principle of traceability to show how, when, and why transparency can be deployed to serve accountability goals and thereby improve the normative fidelity of systems and their development processes. ; Naval Postgraduate School’s Research Initiation Program