A group of academics from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University have been awarded funding to examine how AI-voice-based technologies, such as the Amazon Echo, help people with disabilities live independently and explore how they may shape the future of social care.

Dr. Saul Albert, from Communication and Media in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, was awarded a 10k British Academy small grant with Liz Stokoe (SSH), Thorsten Gruber (SBE), Crispin Coombs (SBE) and Donald Hislop (former SBE, now Uni of Aberdeen). They will examine how AI-voice-based technologies, such as the Amazon Echo, help people with disabilities live independently and explore how they may shape the future of social care.

Project lead Dr Saul Albert aims to submit the research findings as evidence for the various House of Commons and Lords groups that have health, social care and technology in their remit in the hope it will lead to positive changes.

Read more about this project here.