Artificial Intelligence and Multimodal Technologies in Psychology: A Scoping Review of Speech, Language, Gesture, Communication, and Human-Computer Interaction Research: (2021- 2026)

Purpose: This scoping review systematically captures and describes the existing research in psychology how AI and multimodal technologies are used for speech, language, gesture, communication, and human - computer interaction (HCI). It also analyzes the research on these issues published between January 2021 and June 2026. Methodology: The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. The electronic search was initiated in the Scopus database mainly focusing on identifying Scopus-indexed peer-reviewed journal articles with Psychology and related cross-disciplinary areas. Findings: The findings reveal that a great number of interdisciplinary research projects focusing on AI-enabled communication technologies were conducted during the period under the review. Multimodal learning, deep learning, machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, transformer architectures, large language models, affective computing, speech recognition, gesture recognition, emotion recognition, conversational AI, and adaptive intelligent systems were the most commonly mentioned technologies in the literature. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study gives policymakers the insight that standardized benchmarking of the communication AI systems, open and transparent AI governance systems, data privacy measures, inclusive and equitable datasets, and regulations of Ethical AI development and deployment should be made priority in policy guidelines on the use of AI communication systems in communication. This scoping review has one of its primary contributions to the literature through the provision of an excellent map of AI multimodal communication technology evidence between 2021 and 2026. The study, from a theoretical point of view, enriches the existing knowledge by bringing AI-related work together with psychological communication educational, health rehabilitation accessibility, and HCI evidence in a singular system.