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The Incentives Lab
HBT-INC-0115 · Dimension INC · Incentives

Explainability vs. Interpretability

Why did it produce this? vs. How does it work?

Governance·AI-Behavioral Coupling·Grade C·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Why did it produce this? vs. How does it work?

Plain-English Definition

Why did it produce this? vs. How does it work?

Feynman Explanation

Different questions. Different methods. Both useful.

Core Principle

Why did it produce this? vs. How does it work?

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Pending editorial review.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

Different questions. Different methods. Both useful.

Examples

Everyday
  • SHAP values vs. mechanistic interpretability.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Compliance, user trust, debugging.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Match the tool to the question.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
C (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★☆☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Compliance, user trust, debugging.
Amplifying Incentives
Compliance, user trust, debugging.
Org Failure Modes
Compliance, user trust, debugging.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Match the tool to the question.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Match the tool to the question.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Match the tool to the question.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-INC-0115 · INC
Explainability vs. Interpretability
EVAUAcceptable Use Polic…AAAI Audit TrailABAI Bill of MaterialsABAI Bill of Materials…ACAI Council / CommitteeAGAI Governance VacuumCPContent Provenance (…DLData LineageEAEU AI ActHuHuman-in-the-Loop

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.