Improving Tactical Decision-Making Through Multiobjective Contrastive Explanations

Michelle Blom, Ronal Singh, Tim Miller, Liz Sonenberg, Kerry Trentelman, Adam Saulwick, Steven Wark

Abstract: We consider the effectiveness of multiobjective counterfactual explanations (MOCEs) in helping individuals learn tactics, or rules of thumb, to apply when required to select a course of action in a specific context. In this setting, a counterfactual explanation compares one course of action against another. A MOCE presents this comparison by highlighting how the two options differ across a range of objectives or metrics. We conduct a study in which participants are presented with various scenarios alongside courses of action that could be implemented in those scenarios. Counterfactual explanations, including those involving multiple objectives, are used to identify the positive and negative aspects of the provided options. Participants were then required to identify the best course of action in various contexts. Participants trained with MOCE outperformed those given no explanations in seven of eight scenarios and those given single-objective counterfactual explanations (SOCEs) in four. SOCEs gave participants an aggregated outcome (expected rewards) without breaking these into specific objectives. MOCE improved tactic learning, but participants provided with SOCE or no explanation performed better in multitactic scenarios. These findings suggest that MOCE enhances tactical decision-making, but further research is needed for multitactic integration.