The role of empathy for artificial intelligence accountability

Accountability encompasses multiple aspects such as responsibility, justification, reporting, traceability, audit, and redress so as to satisfy diverse requirements of different stakeholders— consumers, regulators, developers, etc. In order to take into account needs of different stakeholders and thus, to put into practice accountability in Artificial Intelligence, the notion of empathy can be quite effective. Empathy is the ability to be sensitive to the needs of someone based on understanding their affective states and intentions, caring for their feelings, and socialization, which can help in addressing the social-technical challenges associated with accountability. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, we elucidate the connections between empathy and accountability, drawing find- ings from various disciplines like psychology, social science, and organizational science. Second, we suggest potential pathways to incorporate empathy.