Reporting Risks in AI-based Assistive Technology Research: A Systematic Review

TL;DR

This systematic review highlights the lack of comprehensive evaluation and risk reporting in AI-based assistive technologies for visually impaired users, emphasizing the need for standardized assessment methods.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of current research gaps in evaluating risks and failures in AI assistive tech for visually impaired individuals.

Findings

Most prototypes lack human evaluation with the target community

Many studies do not report failure cases or risks

Standardized methods for risk analysis are needed

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly employed to enhance assistive technologies, yet it can fail in various ways. We conducted a systematic literature review of research into AI-based assistive technology for persons with visual impairments. Our study shows that most proposed technologies with a testable prototype have not been evaluated in a human study with members of the sight-loss community. Furthermore, many studies did not consider or report failure cases or possible risks. These findings highlight the importance of inclusive system evaluations and the necessity of standardizing methods for presenting and analyzing failure cases and threats when developing AI-based assistive technologies.