A Participatory Strategy for AI Ethics in Education and Rehabilitation grounded in the Capability Approach
Valeria Cesaroni, Eleonora Pasqua, Piercosma Bisconti, Martina Galletti
TL;DR
The paper addresses how AI-based educational and rehabilitative tools for children with Special Educational Needs require an ethical, systemic, and participatory development process. It adopts the Capability Approach as the theoretical lens and introduces the CORE co-creation framework to guide design, evaluation, and stakeholder collaboration, demonstrated through the ARTIS project case study. The authors integrate ethical, educational, clinical, and technological expertise via focus groups and iterative design to balance automation with human oversight and to assess capabilities and functionings. The work contributes a theory-grounded, stakeholder-driven methodology and showcases how a case study can advance inclusive, responsible AI adoption in education and rehabilitation.
Abstract
AI-based technologies have significant potential to enhance inclusive education and clinical-rehabilitative contexts for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. AI can enhance learning experiences, empower students, and support both teachers and rehabilitators. However, their usage presents challenges that require a systemic-ecological vision, ethical considerations, and participatory research. Therefore, research and technological development must be rooted in a strong ethical-theoretical framework. The Capability Approach - a theoretical model of disability, human vulnerability, and inclusion - offers a more relevant perspective on functionality, effectiveness, and technological adequacy in inclusive learning environments. In this paper, we propose a participatory research strategy with different stakeholders through a case study on the ARTIS Project, which develops an AI-enriched interface to support children with text comprehension difficulties. Our research strategy integrates ethical, educational, clinical, and technological expertise in designing and implementing AI-based technologies for children's learning environments through focus groups and collaborative design sessions. We believe that this holistic approach to AI adoption in education can help bridge the gap between technological innovation and ethical responsibility.