Laboratory for Normative & Cultural Studies of Emerging Technologies

Most Recent Publication

Guler, B. N., & Zhu, Q. (2026). Navigating access: Opportunities and risks of AI-mediated hiring for people with disabilities. Science and Engineering Ethics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-026-00618-8

Artificial intelligence (AI) recruitment tools are becoming increasingly integrated into current hiring systems, where they support functions such as resume screening, pre-employment assessments, candidate engagement, and automated interviewing. While these technologies are often promoted as mechanisms for improving efficiency, objectivity, and accessibility, growing concerns have emerged regarding their implications for individuals with disabilities. Existing scholarship on AI recruitment tools and disability remains fragmented, with much of the literature emphasizing either opportunities or discriminatory risks without systematically or holistically examining both dimensions. To address this gap, this study conducted a systematic literature review examining the opportunities and risks individuals with disabilities encounter in AI-mediated hiring processes. Guided by PRISMA-informed procedures, we analyzed 21 studies published between 2020 and 2026 across multiple major databases related to AI, recruitment technologies, disability, accessibility, and hiring systems. The findings suggest that AI recruitment tools may create opportunities for more flexible and accessible hiring through adaptive technologies, alternative communication modalities, and reduced social pressure during interviews. However, the review also identifies substantial ethical risks arising across both the design and development stage and the use and engagement stage of AI recruitment tools. This review argues that AI recruitment tools should be understood not as neutral technologies, but as sociotechnical systems that embed institutional assumptions about professionalism, communication, and employability. Developing more equitable AI-mediated hiring systems therefore requires participatory, disability-centered, and culturally responsive approaches to AI design and governance.

Who We Are

The Laboratory for Normative & Cultural Studies of Emerging Technologies (LANCSET) at Virginia Tech is an open and inclusive community of scholars committed to critically engaging with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing through ethical, cultural, and societal lenses. Our work is grounded in the belief that technologies are not neutral; they are shaped by and, in turn, shape the values, norms, and cultures of the societies in which they are developed and deployed.

Normative Focus
We examine the ethical shaping and governance of technological development and deployment, investigating how responsibility, human flourishing, ethics literacy, and research security are enacted throughout the lifecycle of emerging technologies.

Cultural Focus
Our cultural lens explores the values already embedded in technological and professional education systems and the ways their adoption reshapes practices, identities, and meanings.

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