Artificial intelligence and disability: too much promise, yet too little substance?
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OPINION PAPER
Artificial intelligence and disability: too much promise, yet too little substance? Peter Smith1 · Laura Smith2 Received: 13 August 2020 / Accepted: 17 August 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Much has been written about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to support, and even transform, the lives of disabled people. It is true that many advances have been made, ranging from robotic arms and other prosthetic limbs supported by AI, decision support tools to aid clinicians and the disabled themselves, and route planning software for those with visual impairment. Many individuals are benefiting from the use of such tools, improving our accessibility and changing lives. But what are the true limits of such tools? What are the ethics of allowing AI tools to suggest different courses of action, or aid in decision-making? And does AI offer too much promise for individuals? I have recently undergone a life changing accident which has left me severely disabled, and together with my daughter who is blind, we shall explore the day-to-day realities of how AI can support, and frustrate, disabled people. From this, we will draw some conclusions as to how AI software and technology might best be developed in the future. Keywords Artificial intelligence (AI) · Disability · Ethics · Autoethnographic study
1 Introduction The aim of this thought piece is to explore the interface between AI and disability, and the ethical dilemmas which this raises. To do so, we shall use narrative accounts, in the form of diaries as two disabled people, to analyse how AI is used as part of our daily lives, and the promise, support, and frustrations this brings. We shall also undertake a brief literature review of academic and professional articles on the topic of AI, disability, and ethics. Finally, we shall draw conclusions as to how developers might better approach the construction of AI software and technology.
2 Literature review Within this thought piece, we shall use the social model of disability [19] which originated within the UK in the 1970s. In the document Fundamental Principles of Disability [22], * Peter Smith [email protected] 1
University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK
Newcastle, UK
2
UPIAS (Union of Physically Impaired Against Segregation) defined disability not as an impairment of the body or brain, but as a “relationship between people with impairment and a discriminatory society.” The influence of Marxist thought and labour movement traditions is clear in the work of UPIAS and in Capital, Karl Marx [15] defined capital and labour not as things but as relationships. That is, the social model implies that it is society which disables individuals by the constructs which it places around us, and that it is because society is not inclusive that individuals are disabled. More than a billion people live with disability and there is a need to explore how AI technologies can affect this diverse group. AI research can be a force for good for disabled people as long as the
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