Inclusive AI Consent: Adaptive, Accessible Consent for Diverse Research Participants
👤 Investigators
- Wei Wang, Research Fellow, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University
- Professor Charmine Hartel, Distinguished Professor & Director, Opportunity Tech Lab, Monash University
💲 Funding details
- Monash Business School 2026 ECA Research Grant
- AU$9,992 (awarded)
- Administering department/centre: Opportunity Tech Lab
🎓 Project summary
This project addresses a core research ethics challenge: consent processes are often compliant in form but difficult to understand in practice for many participants, especially those with low literacy, cognitive disability, limited English proficiency, sensory impairment, or high stress at recruitment.
The project will design and pilot an adaptive AI-assisted consent prototype that transforms standard consent materials into more accessible and understandable formats while preserving critical risk and rights information. The prototype combines:
- Plain-language and Easy Read content support
- Multimodal delivery (readable text, guided structure, audio-ready content)
- Participant-controlled navigation and clarification pathways
- Human-in-the-loop governance and auditable review checkpoints
The pilot will generate proof-of-concept evidence on whether adaptive accessible consent improves participant comprehension, confidence, and trust compared with standard text-based consent. It will also produce practical implementation guidance to support broader adoption in Australian research settings.