How AI can help make everyday life more accessible
Do you have any disabilities that impact your work, how you navigate the internet, or other aspects in your life? AI tools contain assistive technologies that can enhance accessibility across various areas and environments. Learn how AI can help improve accessibility and create more inclusive environments.
How can AI help with accessibility?
AI accessibility refers to the use of artificial intelligence to help improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Everyone deserves to access spaces, and emerging technology helps improve this inclusivity, and ultimately make the world more equitable. AI can help create more inclusive environments through:
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Image recognition and description
AI can analyze images, describe their content, and translate them into words, also known as image-to-speech technology. This can help improve accessibility because AI can decipher and describe images out loud for those who have visual impairments or difficulty seeing images. It’s also great for those who struggle with ADHD, those who prefer to multi-task, or anyone who’s an auditory learner.
Caption and transcriptions
AI language tools can provide transcriptions, subtitles, and translations for video and audio content. AI-generated video descriptions and captions can also help people who have hearing impairments follow along throughout the video. Certain AI tools can transcribe speech in real time and people actively engage in conversation, regardless of their hearing abilities.
Navigating social situations
Those who struggle with everyday social situations or suffer from a communication-related disability can use AI to help better understand social cues and norms. By describing a certain social situation in detail, AI can help rationalize social situations so you can understand where communication may have gone wrong. For example, detecting sarcasm can be difficult for those who have some communication-related disabilities. AI is trained on natural language processing (NLP), meaning it can understand a lot of the nuances and subtle undertones, as long as you give the AI enough context, an unbiased view, and all the necessary details.
Internet navigation assistance
If you have any mobility impairments, AI can help you navigate the internet hands free. AI-powered voice command tools allow you to search the web, navigate websites, type, and more without you having to use a keyboard or a mouse.
Task automation
AI can help automate tasks, manage time, and minimize human involvement for those who have a harder time completing certain tasks. This can include accelerating data entry, scheduling appointments, opening emails, and more. Doing this can help get those who have a harder time following a routine, back into a groove.
Personalized learning and education
AI can play a pivotal role in making education more accessible. Students with disabilities may require more support. Personnel support and learning accessibility tools, such as AI, can work jointly to provide an equitable learning environment. Generative AI can help tailor assignments to different learning styles and needs and potentially shrink educational gaps in the process.
From providing captions to task automation, tasks and environments that are otherwise inaccessible, become more inclusive for individuals with various needs thanks to the help of AI tools. For more ways AI can help improve people’s lives, learn more everyday AI tips.
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