The following questions were used to survey self-identified Deaf and d/disabled artists and artists with disabilities in BC for the Axis research project and final report. They are shared here for two reasons: as a reference for anyone curious about the methodology, and as a reusable template for researchers who want to build on this work. The questions were originally provided at accessiblesurveys.com, google forms, via plain text or Microsoft Word and in audio.
The survey questions below are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. You are welcome to adapt, remix, or reproduce it for your own research, provided you credit Kay Slater and grunt gallery and share any adaptations under the same terms.
If you’d like to take the survey and submit your responses to Kay Slater, the survey is still live on Google forms. The final report will not be altered by any unsolicited and unverified submission after publication, but any responses will go towards Slater’s continued work at the intersection of ai x access and art.
Section 1: Understanding AI
Goal: Establish what participants think AI is and identify their awareness of AI integration in existing tools
Q1. In your own words, what is AI (Artificial Intelligence)?
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Q2. Which of the following do you consider to be AI? (Check all that apply)
- ChatGPT, Claude, or similar text generators
- Voice assistants (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant)
- Auto-captions on Zoom/Teams/Google Meet
- Otter.ai or similar transcription services
- Predictive text on your phone
- Spam filters in your email
- Netflix/Spotify recommendations
- Google Maps route suggestions
- Autocorrect and grammar checkers (Grammarly, Word)
- Photo editing “enhance” or “magic” features
- Screen readers
- Voice-to-text dictation
- Text-to-speech apps
- Facial recognition for unlocking phones
- Smart home devices (thermostats, lights)
- Social media content algorithms
- Image generators (Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion)
- Automatic alt text
- Language translation apps
- Medical diagnostic tools
- Other: [text field]
- I’m not sure
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Q3. Before this survey, were you aware that some of the tools you checked above use AI?
- Yes, I was aware for all of them
- Yes, I was aware for some of them
- No, I wasn’t aware
- I’m still not sure
Section 2: Your Use of AI Tools
Goal: Document actual usage patterns without judgment
Q4. Do you currently use any AI-powered tools in your creative practice or daily life?
- Yes, regularly
- Yes, occasionally
- I have tried them but stopped
- No, I haven’t used any
- I’m not sure if what I use counts as AI
Q5. If you use AI tools, which ones? What do you use them for? [Open text field – encouraged to share specific examples]
Q6. Are there AI tools you use specifically because they provide access that you cannot get (or cannot easily get) from human services?
- Yes → Please describe: [text field]
- No
- I’m not sure
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Q7. If you answered yes above: Why do you turn to AI tools instead of (or in addition to) human services? (Check all that apply)
- Human services are too expensive
- Human services aren’t available when I need them
- Human services aren’t available in my location
- Wait times for human services are too long
- AI tools give me more independence/privacy
- AI tools are faster for my needs
- AI tools are “good enough” even if not perfect
- I prefer AI for some tasks and humans for others
- Other: [text field]
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Section 3: Access, Quality, and Limitations
Goal: Understand the gap between what AI provides and what’s actually needed
Q8. When you use AI tools for accessibility, how would you rate their quality compared to human-provided services?
- Better than human services
- About the same as human services
- Worse than human services, but still useful
- Worse than human services and not really useful
- I don’t use AI tools for accessibility
- I can’t compare because I don’t have access to human services
- Varies from tool to tool [text field]
Text field: (if you’d like to share based on specific tools)
Q9. Has AI provided you with access that humans have not been able or willing to provide?
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Q10. What are the limitations or failures you’ve experienced with AI tools?
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Q11. This question is about human support workers (captioners, interpreters, transcribers, personal support workers, etc.): Complete this sentence: “When it comes to access support, humans are…”
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Section 4: Concerns and Risks
Goal: Document worries without leading toward specific answers
Q12. What concerns, fears, or worries do you have about AI? (Check all that apply)
- Privacy and data collection
- Lack of regulation in Canada
- Environmental impact (energy use, water consumption)
- Accuracy and reliability of AI outputs
- Bias in AI systems (racist, ableist, sexist, etc.)
- Job loss for human workers
- Organizations using AI as excuse to cut funding for human services
- Losing skills or becoming too dependent on AI
- Not understanding how AI works or what it’s doing with my data
- AI-generated content flooding creative industries
- Copyright and intellectual property issues
- Inaccessibility of AI tools themselves
- Cost of AI tools
- Other: [text field]
- I don’t have concerns about AI
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Q13. What’s your biggest worry about AI in relation to disability access specifically?
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Q14. Have you ever NOT used an AI tool because of privacy, ethical, or other concerns?
- Yes → Please explain: [text field]
- No
- I wanted to but didn’t know how to avoid it
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Section 5: Agency and Decision-Making
Goal: Understand who’s making choices about AI use
Q15. When AI tools are used in spaces you participate in (meetings, events, services), do you usually have a choice about whether AI is used?
- Yes, I’m always asked/given choice
- Sometimes I’m asked/given choice
- Rarely or never asked/given choice
- I don’t know if AI is being used
- Not applicable
Q16. Who do you think should be making decisions about when and how AI is used for disability access? (Check all that apply)
- Disabled people ourselves
- Disability community organizations
- Government agencies
- Tech companies
- Arts organizations/venues
- Healthcare providers
- Educators
- Other: [text field]
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Q17a. If you could design how AI should be used (or not used) by arts organizations and venues to support access, what would that look like?
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Q17b. As an artist working in your medium, where could AI be helpful in your practice, and where would you draw boundaries around its use?
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Section 6: Ownership, Copyright, and Economic Reality
Goal: These questions explore the complicated territory of intellectual property, copyright, and economic survival for disabled artists. There are no right or wrong answers! I’m interested in the real tensions you navigate as a disabled artist!
Q18. How do you currently make income from your art practice? (Check all that apply)
- Sales of original work
- Tickets
- Commissions and Projects
- Grants
- Teaching/workshops
- Licensing/reproduction rights
- I don’t currently make income from my art
- I cannot make income from my art without affecting disability benefits
- Other: [text field]
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Q19. Do you receive disability benefits or income support?
- Yes
- No
- Prefer not to answer
Q20. If you receive disability benefits: How does this affect your ability to make income from your art?
- I have to keep art income below a certain threshold
- I have to be careful about how income is reported
- It doesn’t affect my art income
- It’s complicated: [text field]
- Not applicable
- Prefer not to answer
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Q21. When it comes to AI-generated content and copyright, what’s your perspective? (Check all that apply)
- AI companies should not be allowed to train on artists’ work without permission/compensation
- Artists should be able to use AI trained on others’ work for their own practice
- If AI is trained on public content, anyone should be able to use it
- Copyright law needs to be completely rethought for the AI age
- I don’t know enough about this to have an opinion
- My perspective is complicated: [text field]
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Q22. Have you ever used someone else’s copyrighted work (images, text, etc.) in your practice without permission?
- Yes, and I believe it was fair use/transformative
- Yes, because I couldn’t afford to licence it
- Yes, because I didn’t know better at the time
- Yes, for other reasons: [text field]
- No, I always get permission or use my own work
- I’m not sure
- Prefer not to answer
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Q23. Have you ever had your work used without permission or credit?
- Yes → How did that feel? [text field]
- No
- I don’t know/I’m not sure
- Prefer not to answer
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Q24. Complete this sentence: “When it comes to AI using artists’ work for training, the most important thing is…”
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Q25. How do you navigate the tension between: – Needing to survive financially – Wanting to be ethical about others’ intellectual property – Living within disability benefit restrictions – The reality that “the system” doesn’t adequately support disabled artists
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Q26. What are your thoughts on your artwork that does not use AI in a generative capacity being judged (such as for funding, or inclusion in a show) against work that does use AI?
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Section 7: Looking Forward
Goal: Capture hopes, possibilities, and boundaries
Q27. Are there ways you wish you could use AI tools but currently can’t (because of cost, availability, knowledge, etc.)?
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Q28. What would need to be true for you to feel better about AI in relation to disability access? (Check all that apply)
- Better privacy protections and regulation
- More disabled people involved in AI development
- AI companies being transparent about how tools work
- Guarantee that AI won’t replace funding for human services
- Better accuracy and quality of AI tools
- More accessible AI tools themselves
- More education about AI for disabled people
- More education about disability for AI developers
- Lower costs or free access to AI tools
- Other: [text field]
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Q29. Complete this sentence: “The most important thing for arts organizations to understand about AI and disabled artists is…”
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Section 8: Trust and Information
Goal: If you were going to prioritize your time, I would leave these questions for last and see if you have energy or just skip ahead to the next section if you’re feeling tired! These questions are written to test the functionality of the survey host and to get a sense of how much you scrutinize your information.
Q30. Who or what do you trust most when you need reliable information? (Rank from 1-most trusted to 5-least trusted, or mark N/A)
(Rank 1-5) AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
(Rank 1-5) Search engines (Google, Bing, etc.)
(Rank 1-5) Friends
(Rank 1-5) Disabled artist with similar barriers, challenges, abilities or arts practice
(Rank 1-5) Published books from established publishers
(Rank 1-5) Academic or peer-reviewed sources
(Rank 1-5) User Forums with Self-Defined Experts (Stack Overflow, Reddit, etc)
(Rank 1-5) Government websites
(Rank 1-5) Disability serving or community organizations (DeafBC, CNIB, Possibilities, etc)
(Rank 1-5) Social media
(Rank 1-5) Wikipedia
Q31. When a friend shares information with you, do you usually trust it even if they don’t cite sources?
- Yes, I trust my friends
- It depends on the topic
- It depends on the friend
- No, I prefer to verify information myself
- Other: [text field]
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Q32. Have you ever been fooled or misled by AI-generated content?
- Yes, definitely
- Maybe, I’m not sure
- No, not that I know of
- I don’t encounter AI-generated content
- Other: [text field]
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Q33. Which would you trust more for learning something new? (Check one per row)
- A. A published book by an established Canadian publisher
- B. A self-published book
- Option A
- Option B
- Neither
- Both equally
- A. Training from an organization that serves disabled artists
- B. A workshop by a disabled artist (not affiliated with an org)
- Option A
- Option B
- Neither
- Both equally
- A. AI summary of a research article
- B. Reading the article yourself
- Option A
- Option B
- Neither
- Both equally
- A. A headline written by a human journalist
- B. A headline generated by AI
- Option A
- Option B
- Neither
- Both equally
- A. Information from a friend in your community
- B. Information from a disability serving organization’s website
- Option A
- Option B
- Neither
- Both equally
Q34. How confident do you feel in your ability to:
a. Identify when content is AI-generated
- Very confident
- Somewhat confident
- Not very confident
- Not at all confident
b. Verify information you find online
- Very confident
- Somewhat confident
- Not very confident
- Not at all confident
c. Spot misinformation or “fake news”
- Very confident
- Somewhat confident
- Not very confident
- Not at all confident
d. Know when to trust a source
- Very confident
- Somewhat confident
- Not very confident
- Not at all confident
e. Understand how AI tools work
- Very confident
- Somewhat confident
- Not very confident
- Not at all confident
Q35. What makes you decide to trust (or not trust) a source of information?
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Section 9: About You
Goal: Contextualize responses without requiring disclosure
Q36. Would you be willing to have your disability/barriers/access needs associated with your anonymized responses in the final report?
- Yes, please include this context
- No, please keep my responses fully anonymized
- I’d like to discuss this further
Q37. If you answered yes above, how would you describe your disability, identity, barriers or access needs?
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Q38. Is English an additional language for you?
- Yes
- Yes, but it is my primary language now
- Yes, at home I use another language, outside family or close friends, I mostly use English
- No. English is my primary language.
Q39. Would you prefer to be anonymized in the final report, or would you like to use your real name with links to your profiles?
- Please use a pseudonym (anonymous)
- I’m open to using my real name
- I’d like to discuss this further
Q40. What is your comfort with technology?
- I am an expert
- I am proficient
- I have an interest and am curious
- I use it because I have to
- I struggle
- Other:
Q41. What age group are you?
- Under 25
- 25-29
- 30-39
- 40-49
- 50-59
- 60 plus
Q42. Are you interested in a potential follow-up conversation?
- Yes, definitely interested
- Maybe, depending on the questions
- No thank you
Q43. Is there anything else you want to share about AI, accessibility, or your experience as a disabled artist?
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Q44. Are there any questions I should have asked people in this survey?
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