Engagement, not Dependence: Ethically Designing Assistive Systems for Users with Cognitive Impairments

Abstract

Assistive systems supporting users with cognitive impairments are commonplace in sheltered living facilities. Assistive systems may collect data or analyze user behavior to tailor services for the users’ type and level of impairment. However, ways to integrate ethical standards into the design and deployment of assistive systems for users with cognitive impairments are not yet established. We conducted a qualitative inquiry inspired by literature in ethics to address this. We interviewed caretakers and tenants with cognitive impairments in a sheltered living facility. We present four themes that describe the lived practice of ethics when using assistive systems: Autonomy & Independence, Confidence in Technology, Motivation, and Communal Living. Combining the themes with ethics theory, we derived five design implications for the ethical design of assistive systems. Our work proposes boundaries in which new assistive systems can be designed ethically and guide future assistive systems for marginalized populations.