Foreword

Some fifty years ago, I was introduced to Stephen Hawking and told that he would be lucky to live another year. In fact, he had a long and influential life ahead of him and became one of the Royal Society’s most famous Fellows. Writing in his own foreword for a 2011 World Health Organization report, he described the removal of barriers to participation for disabled people as a ‘moral duty’. In his view, achieving this would unlock the vast potential of disabled people and, as exemplified by his own life as a highly accomplished disabled academic, technology can play an important role. This report aims to push forward Hawking’s vision by considering how we can accelerate the development of digital technologies to help disabled people live independent, fulfilled lives.

One of the most important facets of this challenge is data. As a statistician, I am acutely aware that categorisation in data collection can affect everything and everyone. The way disability is understood, surveyed and categorised has far-reaching effects on financial allocations, service delivery and product design. In a world of data-driven technologies, we need to continually assess how we are collecting and publishing data on disability. Approaches to data categorisation and collection are an important part of our exploration of the landscape of digital assistive technologies.

Issues of disability are of interest not only to those who are disabled. Disability can be temporary or long-term and can affect any of us at any point in our life. Disability has varying definitions across the world and can affect individuals in different ways; indeed, some people living with a disability may not recognise themselves as disabled. These are among the reasons we recommend a shift from an identity-focused approach to data collection towards one centred on understanding specific functional challenges.

In an age of artificial intelligence, global research and development largely focuses on big data. As much disability data is sparse and non-standardised, this presents a fundamental challenge for digital assistive technologies, as is also the case in areas such as personalised medicine. Progress will require methodology built using ‘small data’, such as few-shot machine learning. As a prompt for researchers and their funders, our report sets out potential avenues for small data approaches.

Fulfilment in life has many dimensions and technology needs to adapt to as many of these as possible if we are to truly meet the challenge of disability inclusion. With this in mind, the report sets out case studies for digital assistive technologies for work, leisure, rest and care.

The development of these technologies has a long way to go and we are conscious that in many cases technology can be a hindrance rather than a help. However, the opportunity in front of us is substantial. To be successful, it will require action from decision-makers across many sectors. I hope, after reading our report, you will be one of those who acts and helps society fulfil its moral duty.

Finally, our grateful thanks are due to the staff at the Royal Society including June Brawner, Areeq Chowdhury, Mahi Hardalupas, Charise Johnson and Isabelle Magkoeva. They have been a delight to work with.

Sir Bernard Silverman FRS
Chair of the Royal Society Disability Technology Steering Committee