Embarking on Inclusive Voice User Interfaces: Initial Steps in Exploring Technology Integration Within the Seminar ‘AI and Educational Sciences’

Voice assistants, widely integrated into daily life, demonstrate vast potential across various applications, primarily catering to typical users with occasional focus on children, the elderly (specifically those with dementia), but not yet extending to those with mental disabilities. This paper explores the underutilization of Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) among individuals with disabilities, particularly those with mental disabilities. Drawing from Smith and Smith’s [40] emphasis on inclusive co-design, we advocate for involving individuals with disabilities as well as including domain experts in the development of VUIs from the outset. The “AI and Educational Sciences Seminar” at the Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg (OVGU) serves as a practical exploration ground, engaging educational sciences students in developing an inclusive Alexa Skill for a diverse user group. Establishing a true co-design process is a complex endeavour, and as Dirks argues in [6], overcoming social challenges is as crucial as addressing technical ones. This work presents an initial step towards ‘Developing a Co-Design Process for digital Speech Assistant (DSA) Systems’, focusing on the presentation of the concept and the introduction of a local focus group. Our approach aligns with existing literature on involving domain experts, technicians, and individuals with disabilities in complex software development. To meet the diverse expertise needed for effective VUI development, we advocate for a comprehensive curriculum covering technical skills, domain knowledge, and human-computer interaction. The paper concludes by introducing a prototype tool, a Dialog-Content Management Systems (Dialog-CMSs) for Alexa Skills, enabling non-programming educational sciences students to contribute to inclusive VUI development.