Sarah Travers
The technological landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a key player in developing assistive technologies that significantly enhance the lives of people with disabilities. Leaders in the industry, such as OpenAI and Google, are paving the way for greater independence and participation in daily activities for disabled individuals.
One significant change has been witnessed in the life of Matthew Sherwood, a blind investor who has been dealing with blindness for over a decade and a half. Previously, activities like shopping would require the aid of sighted people to determine product colors or expiration dates. Now, AI promises to shift this paradigm considerably.
Historically, apps like “Be My Eyes” have connected visually impaired individuals with sighted volunteers via live video, providing real-time assistance. Recent advancements, however, are reducing the need for human intervention. Last year, Be My Eyes integrated an OpenAI model that allows the AI to offer direct assistance. This has enabled features such as autonomously deciding when to call a taxi, a function that is also available in Google’s “Lookout” app, which assists visually impaired users in daily tasks.
This move towards embedding AI in assistive technologies is a trend among major tech corporations like Apple and Google. They have introduced AI-driven tools that cater to various disabilities, including eye-tracking technology that enables physically disabled users to operate devices with their eyes, and voice-directed navigation for blind individuals through Google Maps.
The deployment of AI in assistive tech is revolutionizing not only convenience but also employment and societal inclusion for the disabled. For instance, visually impaired professionals who previously needed help reading documents can now use AI-powered tools to do so independently, which opens up new employment opportunities and allows them to participate more fully in the professional environment.
Furthermore, these AI innovations are essential for achieving universal technological accessibility. Companies have been utilizing AI for automated closed captioning and screen readers for years, but recent breakthroughs are extending the capabilities of these tools. Google, for example, has enhanced its offerings for blind or low-vision users with a generative AI-driven “question and answer” feature, which allows for more dynamic interaction with digital content.
Nonetheless, developing inclusive AI solutions comes with its challenges. AI systems often learn from human-generated data, which can include inherent biases. These biases can appear in technologies, such as AI-generated images that misinterpret racial concepts or algorithms that display job ads based on gender stereotypes.
To address these issues, major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft have joined forces with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers on the Speech Accessibility Project. This project aims to enhance AI speech recognition for people with diverse speech patterns by using over 200,000 recordings from individuals with conditions such as Parkinson’s and ALS. The project has already achieved notable success in reducing speech recognition errors.
Investing in AI for accessibility is seen not just as an ethical obligation but also as a strategic business choice. By developing more inclusive products, companies can broaden their consumer base and meet legal standards required by governmental and educational institutions.
As AI continues to develop, its capacity to equalize opportunities for the disabled through technology is not only promoting independence but also ensuring that no one is left behind in our ever-evolving digital society.
