What Factors Motivate Culturally Deaf People to Want Assistive Technologies?

Assistive technologies see high rates of rejection, especially in Deaf communities, due to barriers including cost, discomfort, acclimatization periods, lack of aesthetic appeal, visibility of technology and/or disability, misalignment with user’s identity, loss of independence, self-stigma, social anxiety, social stigma, privacy concerns, surveillance and control of data. To explore what factors might motivate Deaf people to engage with assistive technologies, we interviewed twelve Deaf people about a proposed AI-based assistive technology: a personal assistant device which would understand and respond in Auslan, the sign language of the Australian Deaf community. Thematic analysis of the interview results revealed interviewees would be motivated to use such technology by linguistic and cultural alignment, equality, accessibility and inclusion, independence, life improvements, and aesthetic and technology appeal. We propose these motivating factors should be considered in the development of future assistive technologies, especially those intended for culturally Deaf people.