Chatbots are a pretty popular software application. Interacting with a chatbot is meant to be reminiscent of communicating with another human via instant message, email, or text. Not all chatbots are the same: some are extremely simple and limited (e.g. only able to respond to specific prompts), while others are more complex (e.g. able to use machine learning to improve their communication abilities and be able to accept a wider variety of commands).
For more information about chatbots, see the video below:
Chatbots can be a very easy user interface for people to interact with. Rather than having to learn a programming language to interact with a computer, or even just search through a bunch of menus or webpages, users can type in requests and commands to a chatbot in order to get the information they are looking for. In my opinion, a good chatbot should take much less time and skill to learn how to use than most modern technological programs.
Unfortunately, current chatbots are not always the most useful, because they usually can only respond to pretty specific prompts (e.g. “show me recipes”). Future programs will hopefully be better at interpreting variations in conversation style between users and still understand what is being requested (e.g. “show me recipes” & “What are good recipes?”). I think that the usefulness of chatbots in assistive technology will need to be revisited in the next few years once chatbots become easier for naive users to interact with. .
However, there is already some research being conducted that explores the usefulness of chatbots as assistive technology devices. Here is a link to an article, “Chatbots as a User Interface for Assistive Technology in the Workplace” by Bächle et. al. The research conducted by this group concluded that “the chatbot technology is a viable technology for certain types of ambient assistive technology. However, it comes with some limitations and it is not suitable for all target groups.”
How do you think chatbots can be used in the realm of assistive technology? Let me know in the comments below!
As you mentioned, right now, chatbots are fairly limited. However, as they are developed, I can see them being useful for those who rely on assistive technology. I imagine it’s a lot easier to type (using whatever the person’s preferred method, i.e. speech to text, aac, etc) a question or request into a chatbot, rather than searching through an entire website for the desired information. As with all assistive technology, it won’t meet every user’s needs, but may be the answer for some!