The 'Autistic Translator' Emerges... Tech Industry Eyes Exceptional 'Talent' Excelling at Coding and Performance [Tech Talk]

ADHD and Autism Spectrum: Developmental Disorders
Tech Industry Continues to Focus on 'Talent'
'Neurodiversity Talent Discovery' Programs Emerging
Even 'Autistic Translator' Attempts with AI Chatbots

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder are both classified as developmental disorders and are known to make social life challenging. In fact, according to the 2021 Survey on the Economic Activity of People with Disabilities, the employment rate for people with developmental disabilities in South Korea is just 10.9%, which is less than one-sixth of the national average.

A rookie lawyer Woo Youngwoo (played by Park Eunbin) who possesses a genius brain and is on the autism spectrum simultaneously. Screenshot from the drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo."

However, the tech industry has recently begun to focus on the potential of talent with developmental disabilities. The unique traits associated with developmental disorders?such as distractibility, hyperfocus, and intense immersion?are now seen as possible breakthroughs for solving difficult problems in artificial intelligence (AI) and programming.

Can People with ADHD or Autism Excel at Coding?

In fact, the tech industry has long been familiar with ADHD and autism. Although there is no clear medical evidence, the notion that "people with ADHD or autism are good at coding" has become widespread. In 2001, the American IT magazine Wired published an article stating that "the rate of children with autism in Silicon Valley is significantly higher than in other regions." On Reddit, a popular online community among English-speaking developers, there are countless posts sharing the experiences of programmers with autism.

There is a wide variety of developmental disorders and symptoms, but common characteristics generally include difficulties with social communication, distractibility, and intense focus or immersion in topics of personal interest. When these traits are combined with an interest in science or the arts, they can sometimes lead to remarkable achievements. A representative example is savant syndrome, in which people with developmental disabilities display extraordinary abilities in specific fields.

There is a claim that people classified as having 'developmental disorders,' such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, can actually excel in programming. Pixabay

Within the tech industry, there has been a consistent argument that the traits of hyperfocus and intense immersion are well-suited to programming. In 2023, Stack Overflow, a major American developer community, explained, "Coding provides constant stimulation for a brain that lacks attention," and added, "Programming is a series of tasks where you solve one problem and then move on to the next, allowing someone to maintain both distractibility and a laser-like focus at the same time."

'Neurodiversity' Talent on the Rise in Silicon Valley

San Francisco, USA, home of Silicon Valley. Photo by Pixabay

For this reason, the term "neurodiversity" has recently emerged in Silicon Valley and other tech industry hubs. Rather than treating ADHD and autism as disabilities, there is a growing call to recognize them as new types of human brain activity and to integrate these traits into the workplace.

Major international IT and IT consulting firms such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), SAP, Microsoft, Dell Technologies, and Deloitte have already introduced and are operating "neurodiverse talent acquisition programs." HPE, for example, reported that from 2015 to 2017, a team of programmers with autism demonstrated 30% higher productivity in program testing roles compared to teams without disabilities.

The Road Ahead Is Long... New Initiatives Like the 'Autistic Translator'

However, even in the United States, which is the most active in discovering neurodiverse talent, employment for people with developmental disabilities still has a long way to go. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, the current unemployment rate for people with developmental disabilities is between 30% and 40%, and for certain developmental disorders, it can reach as high as 85%.

The biggest obstacle is communication. People with developmental disabilities inherently find smooth communication difficult. They often struggle to express themselves freely, and sometimes leave a negative impression on supervisors, which can result in disadvantages during performance evaluations.

Recently, the industry has been experimenting with providing AI chatbots to employees with developmental disabilities. These chatbots, sometimes called "Autistic Translators," function much like ChatGPT translates foreign languages, by interpreting the writings of employees with ADHD or autism for colleagues without disabilities.

Elizabeth Laugeson, a professor at UCLA who developed the Autistic Translator, explained in an interview with the Washington Post, "This translator has been trained based on research and advice from therapists for people with developmental disabilities, and it helps autistic individuals with communication and understanding situations."