Effects of Explanation Specificity on Passengers in Autonomous Driving

Explanations matter for passenger comfort: Both abstract and specific natural language explanations improved passengers' perceived safety and reduced anxiety in autonomous vehicles, suggesting that simply providing some explanation to passengers is beneficial for their experience.

Specificity affects desire for control: While both explanation types were equally reassuring, specific explanations (compared to abstract ones) made passengers more likely to want to take over driving control, indicating that the level of detail in AI explanations can influence passenger autonomy preferences.

How AI explains itself shapes human behavior: The study demonstrates that the design choice of how an autonomous system communicates—not just whether it communicates—has measurable effects on human decision-making and comfort levels in safety-critical situations.

Auditory explanations are practical for driving: The research tested spoken explanations rather than text-based ones, reflecting real-world autonomous vehicle design and showing that this communication method can effectively support passenger trust and reduce anxiety during rides.

One-size-fits-all explanations may not work: The finding that explanation specificity influences passenger preferences suggests that autonomous vehicles might benefit from customizable explanation settings, allowing different passengers to receive the level of detail that best suits their needs and preferences.