IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v79y2024ics0160791x24002331.html

Explainable AI for all - A roadmap for inclusive XAI for people with cognitive disabilities

Author

Listed:
  • Tielman, Myrthe L.
  • Suárez-Figueroa, Mari Carmen
  • Jönsson, Arne
  • Neerincx, Mark A.
  • Cavalcante Siebert, Luciano

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, setting specific requirements for responsible development and deployment: The AI should be explainable and inclusive. Despite substantial research and development investment in explainable AI, there is a lack of effort into making AI explainable and inclusive to people with cognitive disabilities as well. In this paper, we present the first steps towards this research topic. We argue that three main questions guide this research, namely: 1) How explainable should a system be?; 2) What level of understanding can the user reach, and what is the right type of explanation to help them reach this level?; and 3) How can we implement an AI system that can generate the necessary explanations? We present the current state of the art in research on these three topics, the current open questions and the next steps. Finally, we present the challenges specific to bringing these three research topics together, in order to eventually be able to answer the question of how to make AI systems explainable also to people with cognitive disabilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Tielman, Myrthe L. & Suárez-Figueroa, Mari Carmen & Jönsson, Arne & Neerincx, Mark A. & Cavalcante Siebert, Luciano, 2024. "Explainable AI for all - A roadmap for inclusive XAI for people with cognitive disabilities," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24002331
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X24002331
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102685?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilson, Christopher & van der Velden, Maja, 2022. "Sustainable AI: An integrated model to guide public sector decision-making," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Hangl, Johannes & Krause, Simon & Behrens, Viktoria Joy, 2023. "Drivers, barriers and social considerations for AI adoption in SCM," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Silvennoinen, Piia & Rantanen, Teemu, 2023. "Digital agency of vulnerable people as experienced by rehabilitation professionals," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Fontes, Catarina & Hohma, Ellen & Corrigan, Caitlin C. & Lütge, Christoph, 2022. "AI-powered public surveillance systems: why we (might) need them and how we want them," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Jeremy Faludi & Steven Hoffenson & Sze Yin Kwok & Michael Saidani & Sophie I. Hallstedt & Cassandra Telenko & Victor Martinez, 2020. "A Research Roadmap for Sustainable Design Methods and Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-28, October.
    6. Williams, Robin & Anderson, Stuart & Cresswell, Kathrin & Kannelønning, Mari Serine & Mozaffar, Hajar & Yang, Xiao, 2024. "Domesticating AI in medical diagnosis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Berman, Alexander & de Fine Licht, Karl & Carlsson, Vanja, 2024. "Trustworthy AI in the public sector: An empirical analysis of a Swedish labor market decision-support system," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hao, Xinyue & Demir, Emrah & Eyers, Daniel, 2024. "Exploring collaborative decision-making: A quasi-experimental study of human and Generative AI interaction," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Zhao, Xuefeng & Wu, Weiwei & Wu, Delin, 2024. "How does AI perform in industry chain? A patent claims analysis approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Kalpokiene, Julija & Kalpokas, Ignas, 2023. "Creative encounters of a posthuman kind – anthropocentric law, artificial intelligence, and art," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Kumar, Sachin & Kumar, Vinod & Chaudhuri, Ranjan & Chatterjee, Sheshadri & Vrontis, Demetris, 2025. "AI capability and environmental sustainability performance: Moderating role of green knowledge management," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. Fontes, Catarina & Corrigan, Caitlin & Lütge, Christoph, 2023. "Governing AI during a pandemic crisis: Initiatives at the EU level," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Khalid Alshehhi & Ali Cheaitou & Hamad Rashid, 2025. "Investigating risk elements and critical success factors for AI procurement projects in the public sector: a qualitative approach based on UAE public organisations," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 16(2), pages 446-467, February.
    7. Rodica Pripoaie & George-Cristian Schin & Andreea-Elena Matic, 2024. "Post-Pandemic Exploratory Analysis of the Romanian Public Administration Digitalization Level in Comparison to the Most Digitally Developed States of the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-25, May.
    8. Atabek Atabekov, 2023. "Public Functions Implementation by Artificial Intelligence: Current Practices and Prospects for Common Measures within Particular Periods across Continents and Regions," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-24, July.
    9. Karim, Sitara & Husain, Afzol & Lim, Weng Marc & Chan, Ling-Foon & Tehseen, Shehnaz, 2024. "AI, FinTech and clean minerals: A wavelet analysis and quantile value-at-risk investigation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    10. Bilge Azgin & Sevki Kiralp, 2024. "Surveillance, Disinformation, and Legislative Measures in the 21st Century: AI, Social Media, and the Future of Democracies," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, September.
    11. Agbabiaka, Olusegun & Ojo, Adegboyega & Connolly, Niall, 2025. "Requirements for trustworthy AI-enabled automated decision-making in the public sector: A systematic review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    12. Patricia Lagun Mesquita & Merlina Missimer, 2021. "Social Sustainability Work in Product Development Organizations: An Empirical Study of Three Sweden-Based Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Elbehairy, Farah & Mora, Luca & Soe, Ralf-Martin, 2025. "Who are you? Examining the multifaceted innovation roles of municipal governments in AI governance," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    14. Choung, Hyesun & David, Prabu & Ling, Tsai-Wei, 2024. "Acceptance of AI-powered facial recognition technology in surveillance scenarios: Role of trust, security, and privacy perceptions," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Sebastian Bartsch & Oliver Behn & Alexander Benlian & Roger Brownsword & Sebastian Bücker & Marcus Düwell & Nico Formánek & Marc Jungtäubl & Michael Leyer & Alexander Richter & Jan-Hendrik Schmidt & M, 2025. "Governance of High-Risk AI Systems in Healthcare and Credit Scoring," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 67(4), pages 563-581, August.
    16. Akhil Bhardwaj, 2025. "Artificial Intelligence and the limits of reason: a framework for responsible use in public and private sectors," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-7, December.
    17. Naeimah Alkharafi & Mariam Alsabah, 2025. "Globalization: An Overview of Its Main Characteristics and Types, and an Exploration of Its Impacts on Individuals, Firms, and Nations," Economies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-33, March.
    18. Wang, Victoria & Tucker, John V., 2023. "People watching: Abstractions and orthodoxies of monitoring," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Jiangnan & Yan, Jingyang, 2025. "Can artificial intelligence contribute to the new energy system? Based on the perspective of labor supply," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    20. Tirulo, Aschalew & Yadav, Monika & Lolamo, Mathewos & Chauhan, Siddhartha & Siano, Pierluigi & Shafie-khah, Miadreza, 2026. "Beyond automation: Unveiling the potential of agentic intelligence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24002331. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.