Developing an AI user interface for people with special needs – user needs in the context of municipality information

Abstract: Several groups with disabilities have difficulties in understanding spoken or written language, which can make it difficult for them to receive information or follow instructions. People with disabilities may also have poorer conditions for using various digital media to gain access to information. Studies have shown that people with disabilities feel less included digitally than the rest of the population, and that people with difficulties related to language comprehension have more difficulty using the internet than other groups with disabilities (Johansson et al., 2021). An important goal for the municipalities is to contribute to ensuring that young adults with disabilities can have an adult life that is based on as much empowerment as possible and that they have equal access to digital information from various authorities. Much has been done around accessibility and solutions that facilitate communication for people with disabilities. W3C/WAI is an initiative within the World Wide Web Consortium (2024) that works on accessibility issues and guidelines to increase accessibility. There are also laws that require public actors to provide digital information in a way that enables people with disabilities to access the information. However, there are challenges since there are large variations both regarding disabilities and regarding possible context of usage (Newman et al., 2016). Although there are many existing solutions, there is still a need for "smarter" services and aids. Aids that can to a greater extent combine the functions of several independent services in a dynamic and individually tailored way.In an ongoing project a prototype based on generative AI for individuals with intellectual disabilities are developed. The aim with the solution is to facilitate access to relevant public authority information on municipalities websites for users with disabilities. The information from the authority's websites will be simplified and made available in a tailored format for the target group. All technical components of the solution will be integrated into a shell application with a common, simple interface to the user. The project intends to produce prompt models to be able to make the information available in a more tailored way, especially aimed at the target group's challenges.This paper will present the first phase of the project that has been focused on gathering user needs within the target group. The domains addressed have been information from the municipalities regarding taking the first steps from school to entering an adult life with work or daily activities or finding information related to other aspects of the adult life such as finding a place to live or change work or daily activity. Participants from three municipalities have participated in two workshops and in an iterative way features for the solution have been suggested.ReferencesJohansson, S., Gulliksen, J. & Gustavsson, C. (2021). Disability digital divide: the use of the internet, smartphones, computers and tablets among people with disabilities in Sweden.Univ Access Inf Soc 20, 105–120 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-020-00714-xNewman, L., Browne-Yung, K., Raghavendra, P., Wood, D. & Grace, E. (2016). Applying a critical approach to investigate barriers to digital inclusion and online social networking among young people with disabilities. Information systems journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12106World Wide Web Consortium- W3C/WAI (2024).https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/ (25 June 2024).

Keywords: AI for municipalities, special needs, technology usage, interaction design

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006683

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