---
title: "Towards Automating Explanations"
authors:
  - "Richard E. Cullingford"
  - "Myron W. Krueger"
  - "Mallory Selfridge"
  - "Marie A. Bienkowski"
doi: ""
url: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1981/71"
pdf: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1981/0071.pdf"
venue: "Proceedings of the Seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence"
year: 1981
pages: "362-366"
track: "INFERENCE and REASONING"
keywords:
---

# Towards Automating Explanations

Richard E. Cullingford, Myron W. Krueger, Mallory Selfridge, Marie A. Bienkowski

*Proceedings of the Seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence*, pages 362-366.

## Abstract

This paper discusses an approach to the modelling of the explanation process within the framework of a graphics-based CAD system currently under development, which can describe its own use, including the common ways to make and recover from errors. With a coordinated textual and pictorial display, the system, CADHELP, simulates an expert demonstrating the operation of the graphical features of the CAD tool. It consults a knowledge base of feature scripts, built up using situational script and commonsense algorithmic methods, to explain a feature, generate prompts as the feature is being operated, and to give certain types of "help" when a feature is misused. CADHELP provides these services by summarizing the feature script in different ways depending upon what it has told the user previously. The summarization process is based upon a series of "sketchification" strategies, which prescribe which parts bf a knowledge structure, a causal chain, or a single concept can be thrown away, since the listener should be able to infer them.