What and When to Explain? A Survey of the Impact of Explanation on Attitudes Toward Adopting Automated Vehicles

Automated vehicles (AV) have the potential to decrease driving-related accidents and traffic congestion and to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. However, because of a lack of trust and acceptance, their widespread adoption is far from certain. One approach researchers have taken to promote trust and acceptance of AVs is to decrease the uncertainty associated with their actions by providing explanations. AV explanations are the reasons the AV provides to make its actions easier to understand. There is now a nascent but rapidly growing body of research on AV explanations. Yet, answers to basic questions like whether or when AV explanations are effective still elude us. To better understand what has been done and what should be done with regard to AV explanations, we present a review of the literature, discuss the findings and identify several important future research directions.