Right to explanation in the algorithmic landscape: foundations and an outline for an ethical AI governance agenda

Abstract

This article investigates the right to explanation as a normative and strategic response to mitigate the opacity of artificial intelligence (AI), an invisible infrastructure already embedded in high-impact decision-making. It shows how algorithmic opacity amplifies risks (such as biases, “hallucinations,” and failures) and proposes the right to explanation as a relevant normative mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability in automated decisions. In this context, explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is presented as a technical approach that helps make this guarantee feasible, whose consolidation as a structuring principle is demonstrated through the analysis of regulatory frameworks. The article concludes that the right to explanation is a cornerstone of ethical and democratic AI governance and, finally, outlines an agenda for implementing the right to explanation in Brazil, in a way that reconciles technological innovation with the principles of the Democratic Rule of Law.