Developing Explanations Together

Algorithm-based approaches, such as machine learning, are becoming increasingly complex. This lack of transparency only makes it more difficult for human users to understand and accept the decisions proposed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 318 “Constructing Explainability”, researchers are developing ways to involve users in the explanation process and thus create co-constructive explanations. Therefore, the interdisciplinary research team investigates the principles, mechanisms, and social practices of explaining and how these can be taken into account in the design of AI systems. The goal of the project is to make explanatory processes comprehensible and to create understandable assistance systems.

 

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News

On 17 and 18 June, the TRR 318 is organizing the 3rd conference “Contextualizing Explanations”. Researchers from all disciplines have until 31 March to submit their abstracts.

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This is a portrait foto of Josephine Beryl Fisher.
Josephine Beryl Fisher, doctoral researcher in project A01.

Josephine B. Fisher, TRR speaker Professor Katharina Rohlfing, and Dr. Angela Grimminger, together with Dr. Ed Donellan, Dr. Yan Gu, and Professor Gabriella Vigliocco from University College London (UCL), have published the research article "Explain with, rather than explain to: How explainees shape their own learning".

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The third episode of the “Explaining Explainability” podcast is entitled “Understanding” and has now been published. In this episode, Professor Britta Wrede, Professor Hendrik Buschmeier and Professor Heike Buhl focus on the process of understanding.

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Members of TRR 318 bid farewell to the festive season - find reading material in the form of a children's book, a year in review, and a Christmas story tailored to the Transregio...

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Events

26.02.2025

Can­celed: How Meta­phors Bring Us Closer to Ex­plain­ing: On­line Lec­ture

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26.02.2025 - 26.02.2025

Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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26.03.2025 - 26.03.2025

Ex­ten­ded Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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28.03.2025 - 28.03.2025

Writ­ing Day in Pader­born led by Dr. An­drea Karsten

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02.04.2025 - 02.04.2025

On­line-Work­shop Good Sci­entif­ic Prac­tice, Dr. Anne Hamker, Leipzig

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30.04.2025 - 30.04.2025

Ex­ten­ded Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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23.05.2025 - 23.05.2025

Writ­ing Day in Pader­born led by Dr. An­drea Karsten

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28.05.2025 - 28.05.2025

Ex­ten­ded Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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17.06.2025 - 18.06.2025

3rd TRR 318 Kon­fer­enz "Con­tex­tu­al­iz­ing Ex­plan­a­tions"

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25.06.2025 - 25.06.2025

Ex­ten­ded Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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02.07.2025 - 04.07.2025

Writ­ing Re­treat led by An­drea Karsten (02.-04.07.2025)

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24.09.2025 - 24.09.2025

Activ­ity Af­ter­noon

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21.11.2025 - 21.11.2025

Writ­ing Day in Pader­born led by Dr. An­drea Karsten

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More events

Projects

Projects

The areas of research included in TRR 318 are divided into three categories. These three areas in turn are subdivided into interdisciplinary subprojects. Project INF provides an overarching research structure; Project Ö facilitates public relations and outreach; Project Z addresses administrative, organizational, and financial matters; and the RTG Project provides a framework for educating doctoral and post-doctoral researchers.

Alle Projekte

Area A - Explaining

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Area B - Social practice

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Area C - Representing and computing explanations

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Intersecting projects

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Mem­bers

The co-construction of explanations is investigated by a total of 21 project leaders with about 50 scientific assistants from computer science, economics, linguistics, media science, philosophy, psychology and sociology at the Bielefeld and Paderborn universities.

AI For­um

Work­shops for AI be­gin­ners

TRR 318 offers hands-on workshops for people with an interest in Artificial Intelligence and no previous experience in this field. The workshops are aimed at school classes, Stakeholders and medical students.

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Net­work­ing op­por­tun­it­ies

The Integrated Research Training Group structures the further education of PhD students and postdocs. We warmly invite external PhD students to express their interest in a visiting fellowship in our Collaborative Research Center!

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Par­ti­cip­a­tion in sci­entif­ic stud­ies

Many subprojects of TRR 318 investigate human-machine and human-human communication in real-time situations. Interested people can participate in studies and in this way contribute to research.

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Me­dia

What is Explainable Artificial Intelligence? And how does one research it? The researchers at TRR 318 deal with these questions every day. Through various channels (newsletter, podcast, etc.), we want to give an insight into our research, always with the opportunity to ask questions.

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Ar­ti­fi­cial In­tel­li­gence: your ques­tions, our an­swers

AI raises many exciting questions. Here you can ask your questions. Our interdisciplinary team of researchers will answer them.

To Questions and Answers

News­let­ter

Subscribe to our Newsletter to keep updated about research and recent events of TRR 318.

Speak­er

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Prof. Dr. Katharina Rohlfing

Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 318

Project Leader A01, A05, Z

Write email +49 5251 60-5717

Deputy Speak­er

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Prof. Dr. Philipp Cimiano

Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 318

Project Leader B01, C05, INF

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