Advantages and Challenges of Using AI for People with Disabilities

Sarah Taleghani

, Bushra

Kundi

, Fariah Mobeen

, Yahya El-Lahib

, Rachel Gorman

and Christo El Morr

School of Health Policy and Management, York University, 4700 Keele St, Toronto, Canada

Master of Science in eHealth, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Canada

Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Canada

gorman@yorku.ca, elmorr@yorku.ca

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Critical Disabilities, Equity Informatics, Health Policy, Machine Learning, People with

Disabilities.

Abstract: This paper discusses the usage of AI in health informatics and its benefits and challenges for people with

disabilities. While AI can assist in tracing pandemics, predicting disease onset, and advocating for human

rights, it can also perpetuate biases towards different groups, including people with disabilities. A systematic

scoping review was conducted to explore the interplay between disability and AI. We examined 45 articles

from eight online databases and highlighted the potential of AI in enhancing healthcare. However, it also

revealed a high prevalence of a narrow medical model of disability and an ableist perspective in AI research,

emphasizing the need for more inclusive AI systems. Using AI has the potential to benefit all members of

society equitably. The findings suggest that AI has great potential for transforming healthcare. However, there

is a need to conduct more research in this area, particularly in relation to AI bias, inclusive design, and

considering social factors.

1 INTRODUCTION

The CRPD, or Convention on the Rights of Persons

with Disabilities, defines disability as a dynamic

concept. This concept results from the interaction

between impaired individuals and social or

environmental obstacles. These obstacles prevent

them from fully participating in society. This is

referred to as the "social model" of disability.

It is essential to understand the impact of AI on

people with disabilities, as AI software uses existing

data to make predictions. However, there needs to be

more published reviews on this topic. To address this

gap, a scoping review has been conducted to provide

an overview of the current knowledge on the benefits

of AI for people with disabilities.

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4355-6806

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9581-8531

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4174-1764

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5877-5728

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3144-1733

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6287-3438

2 METHODS

We utilized eight online databases for this scoping

review, including ProQuest, IEEE Xplore, ACM

Digital Library, Web of Science, Medline, PubMed,

PsycINFO, and CINAHL. With the guidance of my

supervisor, I established a set of key search terms to

conduct the literature search strategy. The search

terms included people with disabilities, disabilities,

disability, disabled, disable, artificial intelligence, AI,

A.I., and machine learning. Out of the 354 citations

extracted, 84 articles were unique.

To conduct this scoping review on the topic of AI

and machine learning and people with disabilities,

certain inclusion and exclusion criteria were

established. The inclusion criteria specified that

studies published in the last five years in the form of

176

Taleghani, S., Kundi, B., Mobeen, F., El-Lahib, Y., Gorman, R. and El Morr, C.

Advantages and Challenges of Using AI for People with Disabilities.

DOI: 10.5220/0012626900003699

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health (ICT4AWE 2024), pages 176-180

ISBN: 978-989-758-700-9; ISSN: 2184-4984

journal articles or conference papers would be

considered. Studies not written in English or not

scholarly publications were excluded. Due to the

nature of the systematic scoping review, the search

was limited to the titles of the journal articles. The

most recent search was conducted on February 17,

2023.

During the research, 84 abstracts were screened

based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Both

FM and BK, the two authors, used Rayyan software

to review the 84 articles, and they identified 64

articles as potentially eligible. Subsequently, both

authors reviewed the full-text version of the 64

articles retrieved for review and synthesis, as shown

in Figure 1. FM was responsible for conducting the

literature search and collecting the articles, while FM

and BK collected data from the articles and conducted

the literature review. CE, another author, repeated the

process to ensure accuracy. In case of ambiguities or

disagreements, a discussion was held to decide

whether to include or exclude.

The studies were restricted to scholarly

publications, such as journal articles and conference

papers published in the last five years and focused on

AI or machine learning and individuals with

disabilities. The most recent search was conducted on

February 17, 2023.

Out of the 84 articles, 45 were kept for analysis.

We are reporting here an interim analysis of 34

articles related to addressing the advantages of AI for

people with disabilities.

3 RESULTS

Out of the total number of studies, 16 were focused

on adults, while 7 were centered on children and 3 on

the elderly population. Only 1 of the studies had both

children and adult participants, and 7 didn't provide

any information about the age groups they studied.

Twenty-three studies had a medical perspective,

while eleven looked at disability from a formal social

model perspective.

Out of all the studies reviewed, 14 were

conducted in a clinical setting, 8 used pre-existing

datasets, 5 were focused on educational settings, 5

were carried out in a laboratory setting, and only 1

targeted home setting. Additionally, 1 study did not

require or specify a particular setting.

3.1 Advantages

3.1.1 Self-Management of Health

According to our analysis, the use of AI technology

has been observed in 24 studies for self-management

of health, including diagnosis, disability risk

assessment, disability progression, and rehabilitation

risk factors (Alves et al., 2022; De Brouwer et al.,

2021; Erbeli et al., 2023; Flauzino et al., 2019; Fuh-

Ngwa et al., 2022; Hori et al., 2021; Islam et al., 2018;

Koc et al., 2021; Law et al., 2019; Modak et al., 2020;

Montolio et al., 2022; Montolio et al., 2021; Mostafa

et al., 2021; Nikam et al., 2019; Rehak Buckova et al.,

2023; Roca et al., 2020; Song et al., 2022; Tommasin

et al., 2021; Wolff et al., 2022; Xiang et al., 2023;

Yang & Bai, 2022; Youssef & Youssef, 2019;

Yperman et al., 2020; Zivadinov et al., 2022).

The debilitating conditions that were covered

included multiple sclerosis, developmental disorders,

dyslexia, and autism.

3.1.2 Assistive Technologies

There was a total of six studies that focused on the

application of AI in assistive technologies (Blanc et

al., 2019; Encinas Cantaro & Montano Isabel, 2020;

Ghazal et al., 2021; Herbuela et al., 2022;

Tamilselvan et al., 2020; Tanabe et al., 2023). Three

the six studies were related to assistive

communication, while the remaining three were

related to mobility.

3.1.3 Disability Justice

Out of all the articles on AI, only four focused on

disability justice (El Morr et al., 2021; Gorman et al.,

2021; Sobnath et al., 2020; Terziyan & Kaikova,

2021). Among these, one was related to the

development of AI specifically designed for people

with disabilities, while the remaining three were

centered on social justice concerns. The use of AI

techniques has facilitated semi-automatic content

tagging and intelligent semantic searches. This has

been a great help for people with disabilities and

disability advocacy organizations to access trusted

sources of information (El Morr et al., 2021; Gorman

et al., 2021). There are challenges that advocacy

groups often face with monitoring human rights and

identifying systemic discrimination against disabled

people because of the lack of disability data, but ML

approaches provided a solution.

Advantages and Challenges of Using AI for People with Disabilities

177

3.2 Challenges

3.2.1 Ethical and Legal

While cutting-edge technologies like AI bring

advancements, they also pose challenges such as

privacy concerns and biases. Legal frameworks can

help address privacy and cyber-security issues posed

by wireless communication devices (Fichten et al.,

2022).

However, the high costs of AI-based tools could

worsen economic disparities, especially for people

with disabilities. Anticipating and incorporating

ethical solutions into the design of assistive

technologies can help mitigate these challenges

(Zdravkova et al., 2022).

3.2.2 Non-Participative Design

It is essential to involve people with disabilities in

developing AI-based tools to ensure their needs and

concerns are considered (Fichten et al., 2022).

This is particularly crucial for older adults with

disabilities who often face challenges with the

installation and use of complex, intelligent elderly

care products, resulting in inadequate supporting

facilities (Teng & Ren, 2021). Failure to engage

people with disabilities can result in designs that do

not meet their needs and may be paternalistic.

Therefore, oversampling people with disabilities can

also help reflect their needs and concerns in the data.

3.2.3 Pervasiveness of the Medical Model of

Disability

Previous studies have used AI from a medical

perspective to help people with disabilities. For

example, AI-based e-health systems were proposed

for the early detection of autism and intellectual and

developmental disabilities (2021). It uses sensors and

AI algorithms to provide personalized treatments to

patients. Another study used machine learning to

predict the progression of disability in cases of MS.

3.2.4 Absence of Discussion of AI Bias

The reviewed articles on prediction failed to

acknowledge bias or assess it across diverse

populations, such as gender or disability types. This

suggests that the studies needed to be aware of

recognizing bias and implementing debiasing

strategies. It is critical to emphasize the potential risks

associated with AI, including bias and ways to

mitigate them, in the research agenda of AI experts

and academic curricula.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has

been a remarkable achievement for humankind, as it

has revolutionized the way we live, work, and

communicate with one another. However, to ensure

that AI systems are truly beneficial and inclusive, it is

essential to involve interdisciplinary AI research with

critical disability and social work scholars.

This collaboration can help shift our focus from a

techno-centric approach to a more disability-centric

one, ultimately leading to more effective and

equitable AI systems. The findings of this scoping

review provide a solid foundation for further research

in this field, which can help us explore the potential

of AI to support individuals with disabilities and

create a more inclusive society. Therefore, we must

continue to prioritize this area of research and work

toward building AI systems that are not only

advanced but also fair, safe, and accessible for all.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research is funded by the Social Sciences and

Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). (Grant No.

872-2022-1025).

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