Four videos share the experience of people with the language disability aphasia when interacting with Alexa voice technology
Published
A co-design project led by Dr Abi Roper, a Research Fellow at City St George’s, University of London, has produced a series of four short videos highlighting the experiences of people with a language disorder called aphasia when using Amazon’s Alexa voice technology.
The project, funded by City St George’s Participatory Research Fund and supported by the University of Dundee, used co-design workshops to explore the successes and challenges of voice interactions with Alexa for people with aphasia. The videos aim to inform future improvements in voice recognition technology.
Challenges of voice technology
Aphasia can affect a person’s ability to speak, understand, read and write, which can lead to challenges when using voice-activated assistants such as Alexa. The research team, which included four co-designers with aphasia, speech and language therapists, and human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers, worked together to identify barriers and develop guidelines for more accessible voice interactions.
Contributors include Amy Hanschell, Tayside NHS; Elaine Scougal, University of Dundee; Dr Michael Crabb, University of Dundee; Professor Katerina Hilari, City St George’s; Professor Stephanie Wilson, City St George’s; and Dr Sarah Northcott, City St George's.
Dr Roper explained:
“The co-design process initially set out to identify the challenges and potential of existing voice technology systems for users with aphasia. As the workshops continued, co-designers decided that the primary output from the process should be short videos to demonstrate the successes and challenges different people with aphasia experience when using voice technology. Four short videos were produced for YouTube and TikTok.”
Real-world impact
To capture these experiences, the research team co-developed a series of short, real-life videos demonstrating both the difficulties and successes of using voice technology with aphasia. In particular, collaborators with aphasia said they would be interested in using the technology to help them with speech, reading and other aspects such as counting. They also spoke about the importance of broadening access and making things available for everyone. As a result, these videos offer valuable insight into the user experience and aim to drive meaningful improvements in future voice recognition systems.
The project not only highlights existing barriers but also offers practical recommendations that could be implemented by tech developers, speech and language therapists, and researchers working in human-computer interaction.
Co-design in action
A key aspect of the project was its participatory approach. The research team conducted a Best Hopes card-sorting activity at the start of the workshops, asking participants to rank their priorities. Initially, six out of seven co-designers considered "being an influencer" unimportant. However, as the project progressed and they saw their experiences being shared in impactful ways, their views shifted and by the end of the workshops, three co-designers ranked "being an influencer" as important.
Dr Roper reflected on this change:
“None of the co-design team were interested in being seen as an “influencer” at the start of this project. However, as time went on, the whole group came to identify the importance of providing an authentic representation of life with aphasia to help promote awareness and understanding.”
This shift highlights the empowering impact of co-design, demonstrating how involving people with lived experience in research can lead to greater advocacy and awareness.
Expanding the research
The project has so far laid the groundwork for further research and development. The team is currently applying for additional funding to develop detailed guidelines for making voice technology more accessible to users with aphasia, and they aim to share these guidelines widely to inform others.