Over the last few years, we have seen significant advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a growing use of AI in education, health care, and preventative care. This poster explores the impact of AI in Speech-Language Pathology and, in particular, the benefits and ethical challenges of using AI in the day-to-day responsibilities of speech-language pathologists.  

Speech-Language Pathology is a specialized field within healthcare and education that works with individuals on their speech, language, communication, feeding, and/or swallowing to improve their communication and increase their independence and overall quality of life.  The three main areas of responsibility of a speech-language pathologist are (1) evaluation and assessment, (2) treatment, and (3) documentation.  In this poster, we look at the impact of AI-assisted technology in each of these three areas.  AI-assisted technologies offer increased efficacy of diagnosis, treatment, and therapy for speech, language, and swallowing disorders, as well as improve individuals’ quality of life. In all three areas, AI was found to save therapists time on mundane tasks, allowing them more time to spend providing direct services to their clients.

Only a limited number of studies reviewed for this poster presented information regarding the limitations of AI in the field of Speech-Language Pathology in terms of the clients and therapists alike. Further research is necessary to determine the privacy risks of using AI in a clinical setting, whether the benefits of using AI outweigh the loss of a human connection, the effect that reliance on AI may have on therapists’ creativity and cognition, and how patients of all ages may respond differently to AI. These ethical concerns must be addressed before the Speech-Language Pathology community can fully embrace the benefits of this new technology.