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AI is improving accessibility for people with disabilities, but its impact depends on better data, inclusive design, and direct collaboration with the disability community.
SwissCognitive Guest Blogger: Artem Pochechuev, Head of Data and AI at Sigli – “AI for Disabilities: Quick Overview, Challenges, and the Road Ahead”
Yes, these projects exist today. And some of them have already made significant progress in achieving their goals. Nevertheless, there are important issues that should be addressed in order to make such projects and their solutions more efficient and let them bring real value to their target audiences. One of them is related to the fact that such solutions are often built by tech experts who have practically no understanding of the actual needs of people with disabilities.
According to the survey conducted in 2023, only 7% of assistive technology users believe that their community is adequately represented in the development of AI products. At the same time, 87% of respondents who are end users of such solutions express their readiness to share their feedback with developers. These are quite important figures to bear in mind for everyone who is engaged in the creation of AI-powered products for disabilities.
In this article, we’d like to talk about the types of products that already exist today, as well as potential barriers and trends in the development of this industry.
Different types of AI solutions for disabilities
In the series of articles devoted to AI for disabilities, we have touched on types of products for people with different states, including visual, hearing, mobility impairments, and mental diseases. Now, let us group these solutions by their purpose.
Communication tools
AI can significantly enhance the communication process for people with speech and hearing impairments.
Speech-to-text and text-to-speech apps enable individuals to communicate by converting spoken words into text or vice versa.
Sign language interpreters powered by AI can translate gestures into spoken or written language. It means that real-time translation from sign to verbal languages can facilitate communication, bridging the gap between people with disabilities and the rest of society.
Moreover, it’s worth mentioning AI-powered hearing aids with noise cancellation. They can improve clarity by filtering out background sounds, enhancing the hearing experience in noisy environments.
Advanced hearing aids may also have sound amplification functionality. If somebody is speaking too quietly, such AI-powered devices can amplify the sound in real time.
Mobility and navigation
AI-driven prosthetics and exoskeletons can enable individuals with mobility impairments to regain movement. Sensors and AI algorithms can adapt to users’ physical needs in real time for more natural, efficient motion. For example, when a person is going to climb the stairs, AI will “know” it and adjust the movement of prosthetics to this activity.
Autonomous wheelchairs often use AI for navigation. They can detect obstacles and take preventive measures. This way users will be able to navigate more independently and safely.
The question of navigation is a pressing one not only with people with limited mobility but also for individuals with visual impairments. AI-powered wearable devices for these users rely on real-time environmental scanning to provide navigation assistance through audio or vibration signals.
Education and workplace accessibility
Some decades ago people with disabilities were fully isolated from society. They didn’t have the possibility to learn together with others, while the range of jobs that could be performed by them was too limited. Let’s be honest, in some regions, the situation is still the same. However, these days we can observe significant progress in this sphere in many countries, which is a very positive trend.
Among the main changes that have made education available to everyone, we should mention the introduction of distance learning and the development of adaptive platforms.
A lot of platforms for remote learning are equipped with real-time captioning and AI virtual assistants. It means that students with disabilities have equal access to online education.
Adaptive learning platforms rely on AI to customize educational experiences to the individual needs of every learner. For students with disabilities, such platforms can offer features like text-to-speech, visual aids, or additional explanations and tasks for memorizing.
In the workplace, AI tools also support inclusion by offering accessibility features. Speech recognition, task automation, and personalized work environments empower employees with disabilities to perform their job responsibilities together with all other co-workers.
Thanks to AI and advanced tools for remote work, the labor market is gradually becoming more accessible for everyone.
Home automation and daily assistance
Independent living is one of the main goals for people with disabilities. And AI can help them reach it.
Smart home technologies with voice or gesture control allow users with physical disabilities to interact with lights, appliances, or thermostats. Systems like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri can be integrated with smart devices to enable hands-free operation.
Another type of AI-driven solutions that can be helpful for daily tasks is personal care robots. They can assist with fetching items, preparing meals, or monitoring health metrics. As a rule, they are equipped with sensors and machine learning. This allows them to adapt to individual routines and needs and offer personalized support to their users.
Existing barriers
It would be wrong to say that the development of AI for disabilities is a fully flawless process. As well as any innovation, this technology faces some challenges and barriers that may prevent its implementation and wide adoption. These difficulties are significant but not insurmountable. And with the right multifaceted approach, they can be efficiently addressed.
Lack of universal design principles
One major challenge is the absence of universal design principles in the development of AI tools. Many solutions are built with a narrow scope. As a result, they fail to account for the diverse needs that people with disabilities may have.
For example, tools designed for users with visual impairments may not consider compatibility with existing assistive technologies like screen readers, or they may lack support for colorblind users.
One of the best ways to eliminate this barrier is to engage end users in the design process. Their opinion and real-life experiences are invaluable for such projects.
Limited training datasets for specific AI models
High-quality, comprehensive databases are the cornerstone for efficient AI models. It’s senseless to use fragmented and irrelevant data and hope that your AI system will demonstrate excellent results (“Garbage in, Garbage out” principle in action). AI models require robust datasets to function as they are supposed to.
However, datasets for specific needs, like regional sign language dialects, rare disabilities, or multi-disability use cases are either limited or nonexistent. This results in AI solutions that are less effective or even unusable for significant groups of the disability community.
Is it possible to address this challenge? Certainly! However, it will require time and resources to collect and prepare such data for model training.
High cost of AI projects and limited funding
The development and implementation of AI solutions are usually pretty costly initiatives. Without external support from governments, corporate and individual investors, many projects can’t survive.
This issue is particularly significant for those projects that target niche or less commercially viable applications. This financial barrier discourages innovation and limits the scalability of existing solutions.
Lack of awareness and resistance to adopt new tools
A great number of potential users are either unaware of the capabilities of AI or hesitant to adopt new tools. Due to the lack of relevant information, people have a lot of concerns about the complexity, privacy, or usability of assistant technologies. Some tools may stay just underrated or misunderstood.
Adequate outreach and training programs can help to solve such problems and motivate potential users to learn more about tools that can change their lives for the better.
Regulatory and ethical gaps
The AI industry is one of the youngest and least regulated in the world. The regulatory framework for ensuring accessibility in AI solutions remains underdeveloped. Some aspects of using and implementing AI stay unclear and it is too early to speak about any widely accepted standards that can guide these processes.
Due to any precise guidelines, developers may overlook critical accessibility features. Ethical concerns, such as data privacy and bias in AI models also complicate the adoption and trustworthiness of these technologies.
Such issues slow down the development processes now. But they seem to be just a matter of time.
Future prospects of AI for disabilities: In which direction is the industry heading?
Though the AI for disabilities industry has already made significant progress in its development, there is still a long way ahead. It’s impossible to make any accurate predictions about its future look. However, we can make assumptions based on its current state and needs.
Advances in AI
It is quite logical to expect that the development of AI technologies and tools will continue, which will allow us to leverage new capabilities and features of new solutions. The progress in natural language processing (NLP) and multimodal systems will improve the accessibility of various tools for people with disabilities.
Such systems will better understand human language and respond to diverse inputs like text, voice, and images.
Enhanced real-time adaptability will also enable AI to tailor its responses based on current user behavior and needs. This will ensure more fluid and responsive interactions, which will enhance user experience and autonomy in daily activities for people with disabilities.
Partnerships
Partnerships between tech companies, healthcare providers, authorities, and the disability community are essential for creating AI solutions that meet the real needs of individuals with disabilities. These collaborations will allow for the sharing of expertise and resources that help to create more effective technologies.
By working together, they will ensure that AI tools are not only innovative but also practical and accessible. We can expect that the focus will be on real-world impact and user-centric design.
New solutions
It’s highly likely that in the future the market will see a lot of new solutions that now may seem to be too unrealistic. Nevertheless, even the boldest ideas can come to life with the right technologies.
One of the most promising use cases for AI is its application in neurotechnology for seamless human-computer interaction.
A brain-computer interface (BCI) can enable direct communication between the human brain and external devices by interpreting neural signals related to unspoken speech. It can successfully decode brain activity and convert it into commands for controlling software or hardware.
Such BCIs have a huge potential to assist individuals with speech impairments and paralyzed people.
Wrapping up
As you can see, AI is not only about business efficiency or productivity. It can be also about helping people with different needs to live better lives and change their realities.
Of course, the development and implementation of AI solutions for disabilities are associated with a row of challenges that can be addressed only through close cooperation between tech companies, governments, medical institutions, and potential end users.
Nevertheless, all efforts are likely to pay off.
By overcoming existing barriers and embracing innovation, AI can pave the way for a more accessible and equitable future for all. And those entities and market players who can contribute to the common success in this sphere should definitely do this.
About the Author:
In his current position, Artem Pochechuev leads a team of talented engineers. Oversees the development and implementation of data-driven solutions for Sigli’s customers. He is passionate about using the latest technologies and techniques in data science to deliver innovative solutions that drive business value. Outside of work, Artem enjoys cooking, ice-skating, playing piano, and spending time with his family.
Der Beitrag AI for Disabilities: Quick Overview, Challenges, and the Road Ahead erschien zuerst auf SwissCognitive | AI Ventures, Advisory & Research.
