Cognitive Assistance

Technology that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to supplement or expand human cognitive and perceptual abilities. In accessibility contexts, cognitive assistance systems recognise people, objects, text, and environments and convey that information through alternative modalities — for example, describing a visual scene audibly for a blind user. The term encompasses both the use of cognitive computing (machines that sense and interpret the world) and the broader goal of assisting human cognition. Originally coined in the context of accessibility for blind users, cognitive assistance is increasingly recognised as beneficial for everyone, supporting tasks like real-time translation, scene understanding, and information retrieval.