Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships:: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Alison Pease; Tom Griffiths

Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Computing

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Abstract

For a co-creative partnership to be effective, each participant must be able to express themselves authentically and see that expression reflected in the resulting artefacts. In this bridging paper, we draw on insights from the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to explore what it means to preserve an authentic voice in the era of generative AI. AAC has a long history of considering authorship in communication and how this relates to the authentic construction of the self. We draw on this to propose three recommendations: prioritise authentic expression over efficiency through participatory approaches; adopt personalised, “one size fits one” design; and develop evaluation metrics that capture co-creators’ sense of authentic self-expression.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity
Editors	Hugo Goncalo Oliveira, Anna Kantosalo, Hannu Toivonen, Penousal Machado, Ana Alves
Publisher	Association for Computational Creativity (ACC)
Number of pages	5
Publication status	Published - 17 Jun 2026
Event	17th International Conference on Computational Creativity - University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Duration: 29 Jun 2026 → 3 Jul 2026 Conference number: 17 https://computationalcreativity.net/iccc26/

Conference

Conference	17th International Conference on Computational Creativity
Abbreviated title	ICCC'26
Country/Territory	Portugal
City	Coimbra
Period	29/06/26 → 3/07/26
Internet address	https://computationalcreativity.net/iccc26/

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

Authentic Voice
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Creativity
Authenticity
Authorship
Computational Creativity
Disability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Human-Computer Interaction
Speech and Hearing

Access to Document

Final Published VersionFinal published version, 91.4 KBLicence: CC BY

https://computationalcreativity.net/iccc26/papers/ICCC26_paper_203.pdfLicence: CC BY

2 Poster
1 Conference contribution
1 Article

Before the Technological Fix: Scoping AI and AAC for Social Futures
Ibrahim, S. B., Griffiths, T., Clarke, M. T., Judge, S., Slovak, P., Pullin, G. & Higginbotham, J., 13 Apr 2026, CHI 2026 - Extended Abtracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Oliver, N., Shamma, D. A., Candello, H., Cesar, P., Lopes, P., Artizzu, V., Draxler, F., López, G., Reinschluessel, A. V., Tong, X. & Toups Dugas, P. O. (eds.). New York: Association for Computing Machinery, p. 1-10 10 p. 113. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Open Access
File
1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus)

26 Downloads (Pure)
Before the Technological Fix: Scoping AI and AAC for Social Futures
Ibrahim, S. B., Griffiths, T., Clarke, M. T., Judge, S., Slovak, P., Pullin, G. & Higginbotham, J., 13 Apr 2026.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › peer-review

Open Access
File
Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Pease, A. & Griffiths, T., 2 Jul 2026.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › peer-review

Open Access
File

Cite this

Pease, A., & Griffiths, T. (2026). Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication. In H. G. Oliveira, A. Kantosalo, H. Toivonen, P. Machado, & A. Alves (Eds.), Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity Association for Computational Creativity (ACC). https://computationalcreativity.net/iccc26/papers/ICCC26_paper_203.pdf

Pease, Alison ; Griffiths, Tom. / Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity. editor / Hugo Goncalo Oliveira ; Anna Kantosalo ; Hannu Toivonen ; Penousal Machado ; Ana Alves. Association for Computational Creativity (ACC), 2026.

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Pease, A & Griffiths, T 2026, Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication. in HG Oliveira, A Kantosalo, H Toivonen, P Machado & A Alves (eds), Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity. Association for Computational Creativity (ACC), 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity, Coimbra, Portugal, 29/06/26. <https://computationalcreativity.net/iccc26/papers/ICCC26_paper_203.pdf>

Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication. / Pease, Alison ; Griffiths, Tom.
Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computational Creativity. ed. / Hugo Goncalo Oliveira; Anna Kantosalo; Hannu Toivonen; Penousal Machado; Ana Alves. Association for Computational Creativity (ACC), 2026.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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AB - For a co-creative partnership to be effective, each participant must be able to express themselves authentically and see that expression reflected in the resulting artefacts. In this bridging paper, we draw on insights from the field of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to explore what it means to preserve an authentic voice in the era of generative AI. AAC has a long history of considering authorship in communication and how this relates to the authentic construction of the self. We draw on this to propose three recommendations: prioritise authentic expression over efficiency through participatory approaches; adopt personalised, “one size fits one” design; and develop evaluation metrics that capture co-creators’ sense of authentic self-expression.

KW - Authentic Voice

KW - Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

KW - Creativity

KW - Authenticity

KW - Authorship

KW - Computational Creativity

KW - Disability

M3 - Conference contribution

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A2 - Kantosalo, Anna

A2 - Toivonen, Hannu

A2 - Machado, Penousal

A2 - Alves, Ana

PB - Association for Computational Creativity (ACC)

Y2 - 29 June 2026 through 3 July 2026

ER -

Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Abstract

Conference

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

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

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

Expressing Authentic Voice within Co-Creative AI Partnerships: Insights from Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Cite this