A new study highlights that 25% of UK office workers use voice AI technology to manage challenges associated with conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, and hearing loss, revealing a growing trend towards inclusivity in the workplace.
Survey Finds One in Four UK Office Workers Rely on Voice AI due to Additional Needs
London, UK – A new study commissioned by Digital Adoption has shed light on the utilisation of voice AI technology among office workers in the UK, particularly focusing on those with additional needs. The survey, which encompassed more than 800 users of voice AI technology, revealed that 25 percent of these individuals employ the software to manage challenges associated with conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, hearing loss, deafness, and visual impairments.
The research aimed to understand the primary motivations behind the adoption of voice AI for transcribing audio into written text within the workplace. It surfaced that a significant portion of users are relying on this technology to keep pace with their colleagues, often discreetly managing their conditions. This is substantiated by a Bupa study indicating that 43 percent of employees with additional needs have not disclosed their conditions to their employers.
Dyspraxia and Dyslexia: Key Conditions for Voice AI Use
Dyspraxia emerged as one of the notable conditions leading to the use of voice AI. The Dyspraxia Foundation explains that individuals with this condition face difficulties with motor skills, organisation, attention, memory, and time management, often encountering challenges in the workplace.
Similarly, those with dyslexia benefit significantly from voice AI. The British Dyslexia Foundation describes dyslexia as a learning difficulty affecting reading and writing skills, auditory information processing, and organisational abilities. Voice AI aids individuals by converting speech into easily accessible written text, thus alleviating some of these difficulties.
Hearing Loss and The Role of Voice AI
Hearing loss was identified as another major reason for the use of voice AI in offices. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) emphasises the obligation of employers to make reasonable adjustments for employees with hearing loss, which includes providing communication support such as speech-to-text reporters. Voice AI systems serve as a modern alternative for employees needing to stay updated with auditory communications.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) projects that by 2035, about 20 percent of the population will experience hearing loss. This upcoming challenge has prompted technological advancements like the XRAI Glass app, released in late 2022, which provides real-time captions for conversations, benefiting the hearing-impaired in various settings. Despite its advantages, the app faces limitations in noisy environments, a concern highlighted by Digital Adoption’s survey, where 28 percent of users expressed a need for improved background noise filtering in voice AI software.
Voice AI Applications in the Workplace
Digital Adoption’s survey identified the top three ways office workers are leveraging voice AI:
- To free up time (31%)
- To enhance personal organisation (21%)
- To expedite note-sharing with colleagues (19%)
This trend towards the adoption of such technology is supported by data from Exploding Topics, which shows a 2500 percent increase in interest for text classification models over the past decade. These models are integral to voice transcription software, allowing for the accurate conversion of spoken words into text.
A particularly striking statistic is the 8000 percent surge in interest for the transcription tool Otter AI over the last five years, a spike that coincided with the initial release of ChatGPT in November 2022.
Expert Insights and Future Outlook
Rotem Gal, Head of Research at Digital Adoption, commented on the findings, emphasising how access to voice AI can substantially aid employees with additional needs in managing daily tasks. Highlighting organisations’ roles, he noted that integrating voice AI could support employees with dyslexia and dyspraxia in improving information processing, organisation, and time management. Furthermore, for those wishing to keep their conditions private, voice AI provides a discreet means to enhance their workplace performance without the need for disclosure.
“Businesses are seeing improvements in productivity as employees save time on manual tasks and minimise the risk of miscommunication during crucial discussions,” he added.
As the workplace continues to evolve, and with the growing reliance on technology, voice AI appears to stand as a pivotal tool in fostering inclusivity and enhancing productivity for those with additional needs.
Source: Noah Wire Services