Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) and model risk management is a topic I’ve addressed in prior blogs. The image of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and its nefarious actions is burned into many people’s minds as they think about AI. We are far, far away from this concept of AI and, since AI/L is still in its infancy, there are many things to mistrust about it. For many, if not most, people, these methods are black boxes: some data goes in, and some conclusions based on that data come out. A key to moving forward from the use of such tools is to establish the explainability of the model, ensuring that there’s at least a few members of the organization utilizing the technology that understand and can explain the methodology for both internal governance and external regulation reasons.