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Co-design Inclusive and Empathetic Videoconferencing Experience with People Who Stutter

Published on: March 13, 2024
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Jingjin Li

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Challenges with videoconferencing

In this post-pandemic era, videoconferencing has become a prominent medium of communication in both our professional and personal lives. This shift, while bringing many conveniences, also introduces a set of challenges such as reduced non-verbal cues, turn-taking confusion, distractions, and heightened self-consciousness which can lead to “Zoom Fatigue”, affecting all users to varying degrees.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that these challenges do not impact everyone equally. Individuals with invisible disabilities, particularly those who stutter, face additional hurdles as they are not able to utilize lots of non-verbal communication they rely on in in-person settings. Besides, the design of current videoconferencing technologies, often built on assumptions about fluent speech patterns, fails to accommodate the unique needs of people who stutter, further marginalizing this community. For instance, recent research on automatic speech recognition powered voice interfaces and digital assistants also found these systems perform poorly for people who stutter, resulting in functional inaccessibility and emotional harm to them.

Tap into stuttering community’s expertise in inclusive communications

Navigating the complexities of videoconferencing, people who stutter have crafted their own strategies to find their voice in the virtual meetings. At AImpower, we recognize these individuals not just as users, but as the true experts of an inclusive videoconferencing experience. Embarking on a transformative journey, we’re flipping the narrative by involving people who stutter in the design process, utilizing their knowledge and experience, and empowering them to be the “designers” of inclusive videoconferencing technologies.

What we did: re-envisioning videoconferencing with people who stutter

We conducted a two-stage co-design research to with people who stutter to create more inclusive and empathetic videoconferencing technology. In Phase 1, we conducted a series of individual co-design sessions with people who stutter to explore and establish the potential design space for inclusive videoconferencing experience from the participants’ individual perspectives. In Phase 2, we conducted two group co-design sessions with two or three participants in each, with the aim to to delve deeper into the design space outlined in Phase 1, understanding how different areas of the design space should be prioritized and implemented with current socio-technical constraints.

Our research has identified a comprehensive design space for creating more inclusive videoconferencing tools, from the unique perspectives of people who stutter. These tools are designed to address challenges before, during, and after videoconferences, creating an inclusive and empowering experience for people who stutter, while also enhancing the experience for other attendees. From facilitating introductions for shared vulnerability, supporting diversity disclosure, displaying empowering messages, and utilizing machine learning to facilitate speaking difficult words to providing platforms for personal growth and community support, our findings aim to transform the videoconferencing experience into one that celebrates diversity and fosters genuine connections. We submitted a research paper for this co-design work to a Top-tier human-computer interaction conference and are excited to share the full paper draft soon.

Going forward: support us to build a more inclusive meeting environment for all

This co-design process empowers people who stutter to be co-designers, who contribute concrete design ideas aimed at enhancing the softer, more relational aspects of videoconferencing, suggesting that videoconferencing can transcend its traditional role from facilitating information exchange to fostering deeper human connection. For example, participants Eric (pseudonym) highlighted the unexpected benefits of being open about stuttering in the self-introduction and suggested that videoconferencing technology would prompt sharing personal vulnerabilities via ice-breaker activities for all attendees.

“Stuttering can also enhance personal relationships, and in some cases, professional ones too. Because especially being open about stuttering shows openness […], and shows your vulnerabilities. And it allows people often to feel more calm, more comfortable sharing that their own vulnerabilities. And so I think it can make deeper connections more quickly.”

Eric – software engineer, community organizer, stutterer

However, realizing this vision requires more than just innovative ideas; it demands a collective effort. Your support will fuel further research, development, and implementation of inclusive videoconferencing technologies that empower not just people who stutter but everyone who seeks a more connected and inclusive digital world. We are currently developing a meeting companion that provides emotional and relational support during videoconferencing and hopefully will launch soon!

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Shaomei Wu

Shaomei was a staff research scientist and engineer at Facebook AI and Instagram, leading large cross-org teams on “tech for good” initiatives and products, including Accessibility, AI for Inclusion, and Instagram Equity. She received her PhD at Cornell University studying viralness and collective behaviors in large social networks. As a person of color, an immigrant, a woman in tech, as well as a person who stutters, Shaomei has experienced intersectionality and marginalizations first-hand, and is committed to leverage her technical expertise and lived experiences to create a new paradigm of technologies that is truly equitable and empowering for all.

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Niranjan Sivakumar

Drawing on his extensive experience advising a number of high growth technology companies as well as teaching and researching at a number of academic institutions in the US, EU and UK, Niranjan brings a background investigating the intersection of law, society and technology to AImpower.

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Ran Wei

Ran brings her deep expertise in research, data science, and product development to drive AImpower’s research and technical program.

 

Prior to AImpower, Ran was a research manager at Meta, leading data science and UX research teams to shape business and product strategies. With an educational background in statistics and psychology, Ran’s experiences spanned over NGOs and the tech industry, from evaluating international development programs to building user-centered technology products.

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Kaiton Williams

Kaiton is a Silicon Valley engineer turned Human-Computer Interaction researcher. He oversees investments at Impact America Fund with a particular interest in the challenges of connecting community-oriented research and design with scalable technology production and investment. Previously, Kaiton held senior engineering and architecture roles at Microsoft for over a decade, where he helped build and manage early web applications for billions of users. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Information Science from Cornell University, where his ethnographic research focused on the experiences of tech entrepreneurs building products for and from communities outside of Silicon Valley’s “normal.”

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Salmana Ahmed

Salmana is a Principal on Global Programmes team at Luminate, leading Luminate’s work in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. She previously grew and supported the foundation’s Data & Digital Rights portfolio. Prior to joining Luminate, Salmana was a Senior Programme Manager at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation where she helped develop the strategy for the Ibrahim Forum and co-managed the production of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance and Forum reports. She previously served as a Consultant at the Open Data Institute, as an editorial assistant at Royal United Services Institute, and as Deputy Project Manager at the Centre for Religion and Geopolitics.

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Ben Lickly

Ben brings a background in technology, organizing, and academia, and is currently both a practicing software engineer and union steward.  Previously, Ben received his Ph.D in EECS from UC Berkeley.

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Qisheng Li

Qisheng’s research interests span human-computer interaction, accessibility, and AI/ML. She is a visiting research scientist at Meta Reality Lab. Previously, Qisheng spent a year at Apple as an AI/ML resident working on non-visual AR applications for blind/low-vision users, after receiving her Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Washington in 2022 studying volunteer-based online experimentations with people with disabilities.

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Jingjin Li

Jingjin is interested in applying human-centered research and design methods to create technological innovations that promote mindfulness and well-being. At AImpower, she is passionate about applying her research background to incorporate mindfulness into technology design and empower individuals psychologically and behaviorally.

Jingjin received her Ph.D. degree in Information Science from Cornell University.

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Mike Meaney

Mike Meaney is a research and product leader with over a decade of experience building inclusive technologies. He began his career as a middle school science teacher and has since worked in R&D and Product Management at Multiverse, Facebook, and Arizona State University. Through AImpower, he is conducting research and development to build a new company focused on serving communities underserved by traditional tech. 

Mike holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Mike Meaney has stuttered all his life and has been actively involved in the addiction recovery community for more than a decade. 

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Greg Price

Greg is a software engineer graduate from the University of Ottawa and currently pursuing an MCS in artificial intelligence. He has a background in natural language models through governmental work. He brings his passion for continuous learning and development to AImpower by researching intersectionalities in popular software services.

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Huynh Yen Nhi Tran

Nhi, a graduate student specializing in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of California, Santa Cruz, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Media Art. With prior experience as a Website and Graphic Designer at a creative agency, she has consistently focused on developing user-centric products aimed at reducing cognitive load. While her background primarily lies in visual design, she is actively broadening her expertise to include UX Research and Design within the healthcare sector.

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Adedotun Bello

Adedotun is an incoming medical student who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience. He currently works as a research specialist at a lab investigating traumatic brain injury, tissue engineering, and nerve regeneration.

As a person who stutters, Adedotun is deeply interested in stuttering advocacy and leveraging technology to improve the daily lives of other people who stutter.

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Charan Sridhar

Charan is interested in using Computer Science and AI to improve the quality of life of and achieve equity for marginalized communities. At AImpower, he is working on equity in speech-to-text systems. Previously, he worked on AI research projects that aimed to increase the accessibility of healthcare, improve medical diagnosis accuracy, and evaluate the steganographic capabilities of ML models.

As a person who stutters, Charan feels a deep connection to AImpower’s mission for equitable technology. He is currently a junior at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley.

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Aishwarya Pai

Aishwarya graduated from Santa Clara University with an MS in Computer Science and Engineering, concentrating in Machine Learning, in 2022. She also obtained her BS in Computer Science, with a Data Science emphasis, from SCU, within three years and with honors. Her previous experience includes working with LLMs in the Generative AI space, as well as conducting and surveying research on foundation models for program synthesis and similar NLP tasks. Personally, Aishwarya is excited to be a part of the AImpower team: Having the opportunity to create momentous impact for individuals who may have been discriminated against, due to the ever-changing AI landscape, is a dream-come-true for her. 

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Meredith Ringel Morris

Meredith Ringel Morris is a Principal Scientist with Google Brain, conducting research on human-computer interaction and human-centered AI. Previously, she was the Director of People + AI Research for Google’s Responsible AI organization. Prior to joining Google Research, she was the Research Area Manager for Interaction, Accessibility, and Mixed Reality at Microsoft Research, where she also founded the Ability research group. Dr. Morris is also an Affiliate Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and in The Information School at the University of Washington. She is an ACM Fellow and a member of the ACM SIGCHI Academy. Dr. Morris earned her Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University and her Sc.B. in computer science at Brown University.

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Gilly Leshed

Gilly is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Information Science at Cornell University. She teaches human-computer interaction and qualitative research methods, and directs the Master of Professional Studies program in Information Science. Through research and design, she examines how individuals and groups achieve their goals and socialize, and the roles that technologies play in these interactions. She advocates for technology designs that respond to human needs responsibly and ethically. She received her PhD in Information Science from Cornell.

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Yu-Ru Lin

Yu-Ru Lin an associate professor at School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in studying social and political networks, as well as computational and visualization methods for understanding network data. Her work has focused on large-scale community dynamics, high-dimensional (rich-context) social information summarization and representation. Yu-Ru leads the PITT Computational Social Dynamics Lab (PICSO LAB). Her most recent research and services interrogate structural inequalities and systematic oppression of marginalized groups in different social context.

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Channarong Intahchomphoo

ชาญณรงค์ อินต๊ะชมภู

Channarong Intahchomphoo is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Engineering Design and Teaching Innovation, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Canada. He teaches in the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence course, and studies the experiences and impact of technologies on marginalized and vulnerable groups such as indigenous youth in Canada and undocumented female migrant workers in Thailand.

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Ting-an Lin

Ting-an is an AI ethics researcher, socio-political and feminist philosopher, and community builder dedicated to aligning sociotechnical systems with democratic values and structural justice. Combining scholarly rigor with deep care for humanity, she collaborates across disciplines to conceptualize and shape alternative sociotechnical orders where everyone, especially the marginalized, can thrive.

Previously, she was a tenure-track faculty member at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and held an interdisciplinary fellowship across the Stanford Institute for Human-centered AI (HAI) and the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society. She received her PhD in Philosophy from Rutgers University.

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Xinru Tang

Xinru is a researcher working at the intersection of HCI, accessibility and responsible AI. She has extensive experience working with people across disabilities and scholars across disciplines. At AImpower, she is committed to centering communities’ lived experiences in the design and development of truly human-centered AI and emerging technologies. She is expected to receive her PhD in Informatics from University of California, Irvine.

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