- Empik is once again focusing on innovation, this time in the areas of sustainable development, accessibility and combating inequalities.
- The company has begun work on new solutions that aim to eliminate barriers to access to digital content for the elderly, visually impaired and blind, as well as for people in mental crisis.
- Empik will conduct research to identify specific barriers among these groups and then adapt Empik Go – the leading application with audiobooks, e-books and podcasts – to their needs.
- The implementation of the project will be supported by co-financing from European Funds in the amount of PLN 2.4 million granted for this purpose by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).
It consists of two main areas of work: developing algorithms that detect disturbing content contained in books (which may pose a potential threat to people in crisis) and implementing the option of filtering them in the Empik Go application, as well as developing a new mode of application accessibility for the elderly, blind and partially sighted people (carried out in cooperation with the Polish Blind and Partially Sighted Foundation "Trakt").
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This is the first such project for the accessibility of culture on the Polish market: – Enabling wide access to culture has been embedded in Empik's DNA from the very beginning, and today, 75 years later, we continue to ensure that everyone, regardless of place, time and individual barriers, can draw from this culture, while taking into account the diverse needs of recipients. We are proud that through this initiative we can set a new standard for the accessibility of digital content on the Polish market – says Anna Winnicka, Senior Director of Digital Content at Empik.
Trigger warning – new in the digital book
The standard on the film or game market is the so-called trigger warning, i.e. warnings informing about content containing vulgarity, erotic scenes or violence, which may cause strong discomfort and an emotional reaction in the recipient. However, they have not been used in the digital book segment so far.
Empik Go will be the first to fill this gap on the Polish market. The leader in the digital content market will undertake the project in cooperation with Samurai Labs, a company selected in a tender, which has experience in designing solutions using artificial intelligence mechanisms to protect Internet users from cyberbullying.
As part of the new solution, the content of books will be analyzed using machine learning algorithms. On this basis, books will be marked as "potentially threatening" and thus appropriate trigger warnings will be assigned to them. Initially, the solution will cover only the offer of e-books, but in the future also audio productions and paper editions.
– As studies show, up to 70% of Poles declared that they experienced stress, anxiety or a deterioration in their mental condition, which was additionally intensified by the events of recent years, such as the pandemic or high inflation*. This makes the need for appropriate filtering of content that will not increase anxiety and discomfort even greater – explains Anna Winnicka. – In the Empik Go application, we offer subscribers over 190,000 e-books, audiobooks and podcasts from various genres. We want to continue to provide this diversity of offer, while respecting the individual needs of our users, which will be helped by warnings about undesirable content – she adds.
The creators of the solution also understand that for some recipients, the trigger warning itself can trigger a strong emotional reaction. Therefore, the mechanism will be prepared in such a way as to filter out titles from search results based on filters marked by the user. The trigger warning itself will be hidden in the product view by default (the option to display warnings will be available in the account settings).
The app is even more accessible
The second path of the project involves developing a new standard of accessibility and creating intelligent modes in Empik Go, which will make it easier for the elderly, visually impaired and blind to use the application. New functionalities will be designed in cooperation with the Polish Blind and Partially Sighted Foundation "Trakt". The implementation will be preceded by conversations with the beneficiaries and representatives of the foundation and comprehensive research on how they use the application, so that the solutions developed actually meet their needs and eliminate specific barriers.
– The first impulse to work on the project was the voices of our application users – blind and visually impaired people – who reported difficulties in using certain functions, despite the implemented accessibility standard in Empik Go. It turned out that the guidelines in force on the market do not always fully meet their actual needs. Based on conversations with representatives of the "Trakt" Foundation, we learned how blind and visually impaired people consume books and what we can do to really facilitate their access to content. This prompted us to work closely with the Foundation from the moment of designing solutions to their implementation – says Agnieszka Zienkowicz, Head of Product Digital Content at Empik.
Among the new functionalities, designed in accordance with accessibility guidelines, the key ones will be: onboarding in the application, intuitive navigation, new filtering options or the selection of fonts and contrast, responding to the needs of people with dyslexia or users with tired eyesight. Another important improvement will be the voice guide in the application (support for systems such as Voice-Over).
Empik with funding from NCBR
The project "Studying the possibilities and developing mechanisms for reducing barriers in access to audio content and digital products, taking into account the mode of application for listening/reading on smartphones adapted to the needs of users with limitations, in particular the elderly, visually impaired and blind and in mental crisis" was also selected for co-financing from the European Funds for Modern Economy by the National Centre for Research and Development. This is the only project submitted under the SMART path for accessibility to be awarded a grant, and at the same time the first co-financing from EU funds in the history of the Empik Group.
