Use of artificial intelligence (AI) in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): community consultation on risks, benefits and the need for a code of practice

Purpose: This paper reports on a workshop discussing the views of the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) community on the opportunities and risks posed by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into voice output communication aid systems. The views of the community on whether a Code of Practice was needed for the use of this new technology were also sought. 

Design/methodology/approach: This was an explorative, qualitative study in which members of the AAC community attending a session at a UK national conference were invited to discuss the topic, responding to structured questions from the research team. The use of AI for both novel language generation and rate enhancement was discussed within the session. 

Findings: Many potential opportunities and benefits of AI to AAC users were discussed by the group. Risks associated with new and existing biases in AI language models were raised, as was the need to ensure that outputs generated by AI were authentically authored by users. Whilst there was broad support for the idea of a Code of Practice, questions were posed about how it would be designed and what it should contain. 

Originality/value: This study presents a unique insight into the views of the AAC community on the benefits and risks of incorporating AI into AAC systems. The views of the community on the need for a Code of Practice may support how the field moves forward with this complex technology.