Digital accessibility refers to the practice of making digital content, tools, and technology accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
This involves designing websites, applications, tools, and platforms so that they can be used by individuals who may have visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.
It is probably no surprise to many that one of the most common things to get overlooked within emerging technologies is digital accessibility. This is because of the rapid pace of iteration that goes into building new, and adapting quickly to rapid-change environments. However, this leaves room for an even bigger gap in accessibility, not only from a technical perspective, but from an equal access perspective.
Accessibility ensures that all users have equal access to information and functionalities, enabling them to navigate, understand, and interact with digital content effectively. Common practices in digital accessibility include providing text alternatives for non-text content, ensuring keyboard navigability, creating content that can be presented in different ways without losing information or structure (such as with assistive technologies), and more.
So what should be considered when building new emerging technologies, like AI Tools, to make sure they are more easily accessible by everyone?
Understand User Needs
Diverse User Interaction
AI tools must accommodate diverse modes of interaction, considering users with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments. This includes voice commands, screen readers, alternative input devices, and simplified interfaces. Remember, we do not all choose to use technology the same way, this starts with users customizing small settings within a tool or application and goes all the way to the different technologies used to interact with digital content. There is more to digital tools than clicking around with a mouse.
Personalization
AI can offer personalized experiences by adapting interfaces and content to meet individual accessibility needs, making technology more intuitive and easier to use for people with disabilities. Unlocking an additional layer of your tool by using it's own tech or inspired by it's own tech can make an experience much more comfortable to different folks and the variety of styles in which they prefer to interact with technology.
Follow Established Guidelines
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Adhering to WCAG ensures AI tools are accessible. This includes providing text alternatives for visual content, ensuring functionality via keyboard, and supporting assistive technologies like screen readers. WCAG also has newly introduced content and criterion that helps provide guidance on how to adapt to users with cognitive disabilities as well. The spectrum for disability is wide, and these guidelines help us narrow down some commonalities and ways to help alleviate pain-points for that spectrum.
Inclusive Design Principles
Incorporating inclusive design principles from the ground up in AI development processes ensures products are usable by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities or circumstances. Think of these as your UX and UI best practices. Humanistic and Ethical design principles play a vital role in elevating the accessibility of a digital experience.
Ensure AI Understands All Users
Bias and Representation in AI
AI tools should be trained on diverse datasets that include representations of people with disabilities to avoid biases and ensure the technology can accurately recognize and respond to all users. Make sure to test the model you're working with before you assume the bias or representation is accurate, as seen with the latest Google mishap, if you don't test you can be looking at multi-million dollar mistakes.
Accessibility in Machine Learning Models
When designing machine learning models, include features that detect and adapt to the accessibility needs of users, ensuring AI applications are inclusive. This one is tricky, because auto-detection of assistive technology is typically seen as a violation of human rights. This means that the detection should likely be an opt-in from the user to get permission to treat them differently. However, if done correctly this can easily elevate a user's experience with simple technology detection.
Test with Real Users
User Testing with People with Disabilities
Engage people with disabilities in the testing process to gather authentic feedback and insights, ensuring AI tools meet their needs and preferences. This is a vital part of any digital technology, is to test with user feedback in beta stages, or even earlier with user interviews and insights surveys. Including feedback from every type of user will help make sure that your content is adaptable and understandable.
Continuous Feedback Loops
Implement mechanisms for continuous feedback from users with disabilities to refine and improve AI tools, making them more accessible and user-friendly over time. This is just like any other request for feedback from users, but having a central place for folks using different tools and technologies to help you elevate your experience based on those things can create areas of opportunity to strengthen an AI or VR tool, and widen the range of users who can consistently and easily engage with your product.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Compliance with Accessibility Laws
Ensure AI tools comply with legal standards and regulations related to digital accessibility, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Ethical Use of AI
Consider the ethical implications of AI, ensuring it enhances accessibility without compromising privacy, security, or the dignity of users with disabilities.
Summary
As AI continues to integrate into every aspect of our digital lives, prioritizing accessibility is not just a legal or ethical obligation—it's a requirement for creating equitable and inclusive technologies.
By understanding user needs, following established guidelines, ensuring AI understands all users, conducting real user testing, and adhering to legal and ethical standards, developers and organizations can build inclusive AI VR, and emerging tech tools that truly cater to everyone.
Embracing digital accessibility in AI is not just about removing barriers; it's about opening up a world of possibilities for all users, regardless of their abilities.