AI for Digital Inclusion
Design and Development of an Interactive Al Toolkit for Engaging Older Adults in Al Discussions
This paper presents the design and development of a low-cost, interactive Artificial Intelligence (AI) toolkit in the form of an animatronic 'talking' mask. It aims to democratise AI and make it more accessible, particularly for older adults, by facilitating hands-on engagement with AI technologies and meaningful discussions about its opportunities and potential drawbacks. The toolkit uses customisable features like replaceable faces, jaws, and eyes, along with modular software for face tracking, speech recognition, and Large Language Model (LLM) integration.
Empowering Digital Inclusion for Older Adults
Our interactive AI toolkit addresses critical gaps in AI literacy and accessibility, especially for the aging population. By fostering hands-on engagement and facilitating open discussions, it aims to bridge the digital divide and promote equitable participation in an AI-driven society.
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EU Population 65+ by 2050
Deep Analysis & Enterprise Applications
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Customisable AI 'Talking' Mask
The physical mask is designed with interchangeable parts—facial features, eyes, and jawline—allowing for personalised appearances. Users can choose between human-like or robotic forms, promoting inclusivity and engagement. This customisation allows the mask to adapt to individual preferences, making AI interaction more comfortable and accessible.
Dynamic Mimetic Capabilities
Equipped with face tracking via a webcam, the AI mask's eyes dynamically align to look towards the user, creating a human-like, interactive experience. The jaw movement is controlled by the amplitude of the real-time audio signal, providing realistic speech synchronisation and enhancing the illusion of conversation.
Accessible Voice Interaction
The toolkit integrates customisable Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech software, enabling natural, low-barrier conversations with the AI mask. Future iterations will allow for customisation of the AI's voice (language, gender) to further enhance user comfort and engagement, making it intuitive and easy to use for all demographics.
Generative AI Engine with Prompt Engineering
At its core, the mask uses generative AI (currently OpenAI API, with local LLM development underway) to produce human-like text responses, translated into speech. Prompt engineering guides the AI to respond to user interests (e.g., health, history, cooking) and highlights both AI's capabilities and its limitations, such as 'hallucinations' or producing false information.
Democratising AI Access
A key objective of this project is to democratise access to AI by providing an open-source, relatively inexpensive, and customisable interface. This approach lowers the barrier to entry for individuals and communities to engage with AI technologies, fostering broader understanding and adoption.
Community-Driven Development
All design and development elements—including 3D models, software source code (for speech processing, generative AI integration, hardware control), and technical documentation—will be made available via open-source repositories. This encourages collaboration, community enhancements, and broader adaptations, ensuring the toolkit evolves with user needs.
Adaptability and Redistribution
The open-source nature means the toolkit is not only accessible to immediate users but can also be adapted, extended, and redistributed by developers and educators worldwide. This fosters a vibrant ecosystem around the toolkit, ensuring its relevance and utility across diverse contexts and user groups.
AI Mask System Architecture Overview
The interactive AI mask operates through a sophisticated, real-time software architecture designed for seamless user interaction and responsive AI capabilities. This flowchart illustrates the primary operational sequence.
System Start
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Initialize Voice & AI Modules
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Listen for User Speech Input
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Convert Speech to Text
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Process Text with Generative AI (LLM)
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Generate AI Text Response
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Convert AI Text to Speech
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Actuate Jaw & Eye Mechanisms
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Continuous Interaction Loop
Engaging the General Public at Dublin Maker
The AI Mask was showcased to a broad audience, including families with children as well as fellow makers/technologists. This allowed for observation of its accessibility and engagement potential for a diverse, multi-generational crowd. Hands-on guidance for creating prompts enabled participants to witness generative AI phenomena such as fact-based responses, non-deterministic responses, and instances of hallucination. These interactions sparked curiosity and critical thinking, leading to active discussions about ethical implications and applications.
Key Takeaway: Demonstrated broad accessibility and sparked critical discussions on AI's benefits and limitations.
AI Literacy for Older Adults (U3A)
Focused on enabling older adults to gain first-hand experience with AI in a supportive and tailored environment. Participants were introduced to foundational AI concepts, focusing on LLMs and speech recognition. Facilitators helped create prompts illustrating AI's varying response accuracy and ethical issues surrounding 'hallucinations'. Participants valued the transparency in discussing AI's strengths and shortcomings, indicating the sessions were designed to inform rather than persuade.
Key Takeaway: Fostered informed discussions on AI's daily impact and ethical considerations among older adults.
Exploring AI with the Art Community at Beta Festival
The AI Mask's presence at the Beta Festival, focused on the intersection of art and technology, offered a unique opportunity to engage the creative community. The demonstration emphasized the open-source, extensible nature of the AI Mask, appealing to artists and technologists. Attendees participated in generating various AI responses, including examples of non-deterministic and hallucination, prompting discussions on AI's role in art, ethics, and society. The dialogue encouraged participants to view the AI Mask as both a technological artifact and a catalyst for examining AI's aesthetic and ethical implications.
Key Takeaway: Highlighted AI's role as both a medium and subject of critique within creative fields.
Addressing the Digital Divide
30% EU Population 65+ by 2050Calculate Your Potential AI Impact
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Annual Savings
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Hours Reclaimed Annually
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Future Development & Engagement Roadmap
Our roadmap outlines the strategic phases for enhancing the AI Mask toolkit and establishing a robust framework for public engagement, ensuring its long-term impact and sustainability.
Resolve Immediate Technical Limitations
Address critical hardware and software challenges including SD card robustness, power supply, servo motor longevity, automatic application launch, and reducing reliance on third-party APIs like OpenAI for core functionality.
Enhance System Robustness & Local AI Integration
Implement NVMe SSD for improved reliability, integrate local LLMs with AI acceleration modules for independent operation, acquire industry-grade servo motors, and develop a remote monitoring component for diagnostics and alerts.
Co-Create Desirable Features with Users
Engage public through co-creation workshops to identify and develop new features. Examples include allowing users to select voice/language to discuss potential biases, and integrating advanced facial recognition/tracking to prompt discussions on its opportunities and risks.
Develop Comprehensive Public Engagement Framework
Design a structured, co-created framework to facilitate meaningful discussions on AI's ethical, social, and economic implications. This framework will ensure the platform is used effectively as a tool for critical AI literacy across diverse audiences.
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