Sources of Opacity in Computer Systems: Towards a Comprehensive Taxonomy

TL;DR

This paper proposes a comprehensive taxonomy of eight sources of opacity in computer systems, categorized into architectural, analytical, and socio-technical types, to aid in developing targeted transparency strategies.

Contribution

It introduces a new taxonomy of opacity sources in computer systems, synthesizing existing discussions and providing practical suggestions for addressing each source.

Findings

Eight sources of opacity identified and categorized

Taxonomy aids practitioners in selecting transparency strategies

Initial suggestions provided for mitigating each opacity source

Abstract

Modern computer systems are ubiquitous in contemporary life yet many of them remain opaque. This poses significant challenges in domains where desiderata such as fairness or accountability are crucial. We suggest that the best strategy for achieving system transparency varies depending on the specific source of opacity prevalent in a given context. Synthesizing and extending existing discussions, we propose a taxonomy consisting of eight sources of opacity that fall into three main categories: architectural, analytical, and socio-technical. For each source, we provide initial suggestions as to how to address the resulting opacity in practice. The taxonomy provides a starting point for requirements engineers and other practitioners to understand contextually prevalent sources of opacity, and to select or develop appropriate strategies for overcoming them.