Artificial intelligence has infiltrated the lives of over 39 million Americans who have purchased smart speakers such as Amazon’s Echo or Alexa. Within the field of AI, another trend has developed: technology that is complex and inscrutable. Kate Saenko, a professor in Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Computer Science, delved into the networking behind AI machines and how the technology functions to make decisions.

Facial recognition technology continues to develop and gain popularity. From Facebook’s ability to automatically tag friends in photos to law enforcement’s capacity to catch shoplifters, facial...