Work

Before the Technological Fix: Scoping AI and AAC for Social Futures

Year: 2026

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Growing HCI interest in applying AI to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technologies is timely and encouraging. However, this work would benefit from closer alignment with contemporary AAC research. Recent HCI contributions have prioritised linguistic efficiency and technological capability, often reflecting sender–receiver communication models rather than the collaborative, multimodal, and contextually distributed approaches emphasised in AAC scholarship. We argue that HCI research could be strengthened by adopting broader conceptual models that better account for social interaction. This work-in-progress reports initial findings from a 20-year scoping review of ACM and Scopus literature examining how AI has been framed in AAC design. Most papers (43/65) positioned problems as connected with technological factors, whilst some addressed bodily factors (19/65), and fewer addressed temporal-relational factors in conversation (11/65). We see valuable opportunities for the CHI community to prioritise social interaction and participation alongside technological innovation in future AAC and AI research.

Source: Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA)

DOI: 10.1145/3772363.3798436

Authors: Seray B Ibrahim, Tom Griffiths, Michael Clarke, Simon Judge, Petr Slovak, Graham Pullin, Jeff Higginbotham

Institutions: University of Essex, King's College London, University of Dundee, Pennsylvania State University, Barnsley Hospital, University of Sheffield, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Language: English

Topic: Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility

Subfield: Occupational Therapy

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

OpenAlex ID: W7153849338

FWCI: 89.09

Cites: 106

Cited by: 2

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