AI Governance Engineer
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Transparency

By Updated

In NIST's framing, how far information about an AI system and its outputs reaches the people who interact with it: what happened 1. Evidenced by records of what ran (registry, model and system cards, logs) and by the disclosures the law requires.

Developed in
ch. 16, Transparency, interpretability and explainability
ch. 11, Contrast pairs
Chapters
ch. 11, AI Defined · ch. 16, Fairness & XAI
Contrast with
Explainability · Interpretability
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Commonly confused

  • Transparency versus Explainability

    Transparency
    In NIST's framing, how far information about an AI system and its outputs reaches the people who interact with it: what happened.
    Explainability
    In NIST's framing, a representation of the mechanisms behind a system's operation: how a decision was made.

    The differenceWhat happened, from records of what ran, against how one decision was made.

    Why it mattersTwo artefacts: registry, cards and logs for the first; an explanation method with a fidelity test for the second.

Where it is used

20 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Transparency: mentions per chapter122 mentions of the term across 20 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter01 Definition: 3 mentions01 Definition302 Why Now: 1 mention02 Why Now104 The Stack: 8 mentions04 The Stack805 Patterns: 17 mentions05 Patterns1706 The Role: 2 mentions06 The Role207 Maturity Model: 1 mention07 Maturity Model108 Regulatory Map: 12 mentions08 Regulatory Map1210 Reading List: 3 mentions10 Reading List311 AI Defined: 10 mentions11 AI Defined1012 Governance Program: 2 mentions12 Governance Program213 Risk Management: 2 mentions13 Risk Management214 Development: 2 mentions14 Development215 Deployment: 3 mentions15 Deployment316 Fairness & XAI: 5 mentions16 Fairness & XAI518 EU AI Act: 9 mentions18 EU AI Act919 Privacy & AI: 9 mentions19 Privacy & AI920 Existing Law: 2 mentions20 Existing Law221 AI Laws Worldwide: 16 mentions21 AI Laws Worldwide1622 Principles & Standards: 14 mentions22 Principles & Standards1423 AI Agents: 1 mention23 AI Agents1No mentions in the other 3 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Transparency: mentions per chapter122 mentions of the term across 20 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter0001 Definition: 3 mentions30102 Why Now: 1 mention1020304 The Stack: 8 mentions80405 Patterns: 17 mentions170506 The Role: 2 mentions20607 Maturity Model: 1 mention10708 Regulatory Map: 12 mentions120810 Reading List: 3 mentions31011 AI Defined: 10 mentions101112 Governance Program: 2 mentions21213 Risk Management: 2 mentions21314 Development: 2 mentions21415 Deployment: 3 mentions31516 Fairness & XAI: 5 mentions5161718 EU AI Act: 9 mentions91819 Privacy & AI: 9 mentions91920 Existing Law: 2 mentions22021 AI Laws Worldwide: 16 mentions162122 Principles & Standards: 14 mentions142223 AI Agents: 1 mention123Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Transparency per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition3No
02 Why Now1No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack8No
05 Patterns17No
06 The Role2No
07 Maturity Model1No
08 Regulatory Map12No
10 Reading List3No
11 AI Defined10Yes
12 Governance Program2No
13 Risk Management2No
14 Development2No
15 Deployment3No
16 Fairness & XAI5Yes
17 Incidents0No
18 EU AI Act9No
19 Privacy & AI9No
20 Existing Law2No
21 AI Laws Worldwide16No
22 Principles & Standards14No
23 AI Agents1No

Patterns that use this term

16 pattern pages use the term; the 10 that use it most:

Transparency: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory05 AssuranceTransparencyRelated terms (6)Algorithmic management · RelatedAlgorithmic managementConcept drift · RelatedConcept driftContent provenance (C2PA) · RelatedContent provenance (C2PA)Data drift · RelatedData driftGPAI Code of Practice · RelatedGPAI Code of PracticeOpacity · RelatedOpacityContrast with (2)Explainability · ContrastExplainabilityInterpretability · ContrastInterpretabilityPatterns using it most (6)AIBOM, 6 mentions · Uses the termAIBOMDisclosure & Notification Pipeline, 9 mentions · Uses the termDisclosure & Notification…Model Artefact Integrity, 2 mentions · Uses the termModel Artefact IntegrityModel Card as Control Evidence, 8 mentions · Uses the termModel Card as Control EvidenceUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 2 mentions · Uses the termUse-Case Intake & Risk TieringVendor / Model Due-Diligence Gate, 2 mentions · Uses the termVendor / Model Due-Diligence
Transparency: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory05 AssuranceRelated terms (6)Algorithmic management · RelatedAlgorithmic managementConcept drift · RelatedConcept driftContent provenance (C2PA) · RelatedContent provenance (C2PA)Data drift · RelatedData driftGPAI Code of Practice · RelatedGPAI Code of PracticeOpacity · RelatedOpacityContrast with (2)Explainability · ContrastExplainabilityInterpretability · ContrastInterpretabilityPatterns using it most (6)AIBOM, 6 mentions · Uses the termAIBOMDisclosure & Notification Pipeline, 9 mentions · Uses the termDisclosure & Notification…Model Artefact Integrity, 2 mentions · Uses the termModel Artefact IntegrityModel Card as Control Evidence, 8 mentions · Uses the termModel Card as Control EvidenceUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 2 mentions · Uses the termUse-Case Intake & Risk TieringVendor / Model Due-Diligence Gate, 2 mentions · Uses the termVendor / Model Due-DiligenceTransparency
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Transparency
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAlgorithmic managementRelated
Related termsConcept driftRelated
Related termsContent provenance (C2PA)Related
Related termsData driftRelated
Related termsGPAI Code of PracticeRelated
Related termsOpacityRelated
Contrast withExplainabilityContrast
Contrast withInterpretabilityContrast
Patterns using it mostAIBOM, 6 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using it mostDisclosure & Notification Pipeline, 9 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using it mostModel Artefact Integrity, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using it mostModel Card as Control Evidence, 8 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using it mostUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using it mostVendor / Model Due-Diligence Gate, 2 mentionsUses the term
  • Concept drift

    A change in the relationship between a system's inputs and the correct output, so the same input should now get a different answer.

  • Data drift

    A change in the distribution of the inputs a system sees in production relative to the data it was validated on, such as a new customer segment or a changed…

  • Opacity

    The inability of a person to follow how a system reached an output.

  • Content provenance (C2PA)

    Signed, tamper-evident information about where a piece of content came from and how it was edited, bound to the asset.

  • Algorithmic management

    The use of automated monitoring and decision systems to direct, evaluate or sanction workers.

  • GPAI Code of Practice

    The voluntary instrument (published 10 July 2025) that general-purpose-AI providers use to demonstrate compliance with their AI Act obligations until…

Sources

  1. [1] Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0), NIST AI 100-1 (risk tolerance and residual risk; seven trustworthy characteristics; transparency answers "what happened", explainability "how", interpretability "why"; MAP 1.1 intended purposes; MANAGE 1.1 go/no-go determination; profiles). NIST. 2023-01-26. https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AI.100-1 (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Transparency. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/transparency. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026transparency,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Transparency}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/transparency}
}