The impact of voice assistant home devices on people with disabilities: A longitudinal study

Alessandro Diogo Vieira, Higor Leite and Ana Vitória Lachowski Volochtchuk

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, vol. 184, issue C

Abstract: The impact of technological innovations in our lives has never been greater, for instance the use of assistive technology and artificial intelligence has resulted in smart devices, such as voice assistants (VA). However, empirical studies that understand the impact of VA technology on the individual and collective well-being of vulnerable people are still scarce. Thus, by conducting a series of longitudinal studies within the ecosystem of physically and visually impaired people, our study aims to respond to this void in the literature. Over a period of 30 weeks, we carried out 5 longitudinal case studies, and collected data from semi-structured interviews (n = 25), informal conversations (n = 23), observations (n = 25) and a focus group with participants (n = 8), as well as secondary data collected from the VA device reports. Our results identified themes related to the impact of technology on well-being, challenges and improvements, relationship building, privacy concerns and a gap between technology and inclusiveness. Furthermore, under the transformative service lens, we developed a framework that illustrates how interactions between people with disability and the VA technology co-design and co-create value for individual and collective well-being.

Keywords: Assistive technology; Google home; People with disability; Physical and visual impairments; Voice assistant; Vulnerable population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:184:y:2022:i:c:s0040162522004826

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121961

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