Collaborative Research: FW-HTF-RL: Building an Inclusive Future of Work: Accessible Collaboration for Visually Impaired Information Workers

信息工作者使用数字协作工具进行项目管理，准备和共享文档和演示文稿，以及团队沟通和协调。盲人或视力低下的人越来越多地从事计算机工作，但在810万视力受损的美国人中，只有44%的人就业。虽然协作工具的进步（例如，共享文档编辑器、视频会议和聊天平台）使人们以新的方式一起工作并创造新的职业机会成为可能，但这些工具在很大程度上仍然无法为盲人工人所用。全球每月有超过20亿人在使用协作工具，但学习如何在屏幕阅读器（盲人用来阅读和浏览图形显示的软件）上使用它们是极具挑战性的。例如，协作写作工具仅为屏幕阅读器用户提供部分访问权限，这使得很难理解其他团队成员在共享文档中的工作位置。该项目推动了未来人工智能增强协作工具的发展，通过改善与工作相关的技能发展，提高员工的自我效能，并提供当前和未来信息工作者所经历的团队合作的各个方面，创造了一个更加公平和包容的未来工作。该项目以形成性研究为基础，并与加利福尼亚州奥兰治县和伊利诺伊州芝加哥的四个残疾人服务组织密切合作，这些组织作为主要工作环境，雇用视障信息工作者，并提供培训和安置计划。本研究贡献如下：(1)通过无障碍障碍分类了解盲人信息工作者的无障碍需求，并为人工智能协作工具提供设计指南；(2)可访问的新交互技术和人工智能增强工具基础设施，支持能力多样化的团队沟通、协调和知识共享；(3)促进同侪学习和相互支持的开源网络社区；(4)个体和协作互动、技能发展、自我效能和协作准备的系统有效性的经验证据；(5)一个多学科联盟，该联盟将影响与未来无障碍工作、人工智能和科技行业公平相关的行业产品和政策。一个综合评估计划评估个人和协作与系统的互动，以及盲人工人和求职者大规模的自然使用。为了进一步确保项目产生更广泛的影响，咨询委员会由来自行业、残疾人法和公共政策的专家组成。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Information workers use digital collaboration tools for project management, preparing and sharing documents and presentations, and team communication and coordination. People who are blind or low vision are performing computer-based work at increasing rates, yet only 44% of the 8.1 million visually impaired Americans are employed. While advances in collaboration tools (e.g., shared document editors, video conferencing, and chat platforms) make it possible to work together in new ways and create new career opportunities, these tools remain largely inaccessible for blind workers. More than 2 billion people worldwide use collaboration tools on a monthly basis, yet learning to use them with a screen reader – software blind people use to read and navigate a graphical display – is extremely challenging. For example, collaborative writing tools offer only partial access for screen reader users, making it difficult to understand where other team members are working in a shared document. This project advances future AI-augmented collaboration tools and creates a more equitable and inclusive future of work by improving job-related skill development, increasing worker self-efficacy, and providing access to all aspects of teamwork experienced by current and future information workers. This project is grounded in formative research and close partnership with four Disability Service Organizations across Orange County, CA and Chicago, IL that serve as the primary work contexts and both employ visually impaired information workers as well as offer training and placement programs. This research contributes: (1) foundational knowledge of accessibility needs for blind information workers through a taxonomy of accessibility barriers and provides design guidelines for AI-powered collaboration tools; (2) an accessible infrastructure of new interaction techniques and AI-augmented tools that support ability-diverse team communication, coordination, and knowledge sharing; (3) an open-source online community that fosters peer learning and support; (4) empirical evidence of system effectiveness for individual and collaborative interaction, skill development, self-efficacy, and collaboration readiness; and (5) a multidisciplinary consortium that will impact on industry products and policy related to the future of accessible work, AI, and equity in the tech industry. An integrated evaluation plan assesses individual and collaborative interaction with the systems as well as large-scale naturalistic use by blind workers and those seeking employment. To further ensure the project’s broader impact, an advisory board includes experts from industry, disability law, and public policy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.