Evaluating the Effectiveness of Direct Preference Optimization for Personalizing German Automatic Text Simplifications for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

Automatic text simplification (ATS) aims to enhance language accessibility for various target groups, particularly persons with intellectual disabilities. Recent advancements in generative AI, especially large language models (LLMs), have substantially improved the quality of machine-generated text simplifications, thereby mitigating information barriers for the target group. However, existing LLM-based ATS systems do not incorporate preference feedback on text simplifications during training, resulting in a lack of personalization tailored to the specific needs of target group representatives. In this work, we extend the standard supervised fine-tuning (SFT) approach for adapting LLM-based ATS models by leveraging a computationally efficient LLM alignment technique -- direct preference optimization (DPO). Specifically, we post-train LLM-based ATS models using human feedback collected from persons with intellectual disabilities, reflecting their preferences on paired text simplifications generated by mainstream LLMs. Furthermore, we propose a pipeline for developing personalized LLM-based ATS systems, encompassing data collection, model selection, SFT and DPO post-training, and evaluation. Our findings underscore the necessity of active participation of target group persons in designing personalized AI accessibility solutions aligned with human expectations. This work represents a step towards personalizing inclusive AI systems at the target-group level, incorporating insights not only from text simplification experts but also from target group persons themselves.