The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Supporting Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities: A Literature Review

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is increasingly discussed as a transformative approach to improving accessibility for persons with disabilities, particularly in health care, rehabilitation, education, communication, and daily living. This literature review synthesizes evidence on how artificial intelligence supports assistive technologies, adaptive learning, clinical monitoring, communication support, and disability-inclusive service delivery. A descriptive qualitative literature review was conducted using studies retrieved from PubMed and ScienceDirect and selected using a PRISMA-based flow. From 60 records identified, 40 full-text articles were included in the synthesis. The reviewed literature shows that artificial intelligence can improve independence and participation through screen readers, speech recognition, sign-language recognition, smart vision devices, wearable sensors, tele-rehabilitation, personalized education systems, and clinical decision-support tools. However, implementation remains limited by high cost, digital literacy gaps, infrastructure barriers, small and non-representative datasets, algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and insufficient involvement of persons with disabilities in technology design. The review highlights that artificial intelligence should be developed through inclusive, user-centered, ethically governed, and context-sensitive approaches. Sustainable integration requires collaboration among health professionals, educators, technology developers, policymakers, caregivers, and disability communities.