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。失明或低视力的人正在以越来越快的速度进行基于计算机的工作，但在810万视障美国人中，只有44%的人有工作。虽然协作工具(如共享文档编辑器、视频会议和聊天平台)的进步使人们能够以新的方式合作并创造新的职业机会，但这些工具在很大程度上仍然无法为盲人员工所用。全球每月有20多亿人使用协作工具，但学习通过屏幕阅读器使用它们非常具有挑战性。屏幕阅读器是盲人用来阅读和导航图形显示的软件。例如，协作编写工具只为屏幕阅读器用户提供部分访问权限，这使得很难了解其他团队成员在共享文档中的哪些位置工作。该项目推进了未来的人工智能增强的协作工具，并通过改善与工作相关的技能发展、提高员工自我效能以及提供当前和未来信息工作者所经历的团队合作的方方面面，创造了一个更公平、更包容的未来工作。该项目以形成性研究为基础，并与伊利诺伊州奥兰治县、加利福尼亚州和伊利诺伊州芝加哥的四个残疾人服务组织建立了密切的合作伙伴关系，这些组织作为主要工作环境，都雇用了视障信息工作者，并提供培训和安置计划。这项研究的贡献是：(1)通过可访问性障碍的分类，为盲人信息工作者的可访问性需求提供基础知识，并为人工智能支持的协作工具提供设计指南；(2)可访问的新交互技术和支持能力多样化的团队沟通、协调和知识共享的人工智能增强工具的基础设施；(3)促进同伴学习和支持的开源在线社区；(4)系统对个人和协作交互、技能发展、自我效能和协作准备的有效性的经验证据；以及(5)一个多学科联盟，将影响与无障碍工作、人工智能和科技行业股权的未来相关的行业产品和政策。综合评价计划评估与系统的个人和协作互动，以及盲人工人和求职者的大规模自然使用情况。为了进一步确保该项目的更广泛影响，咨询委员会包括来自行业、残疾人法律和公共政策的专家。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.