When competing in the age of AI, the million dollar question businesses should ask but seldom does is “What does our AI team look like?” Your solution depends quite a bit on who is involved in solving your problem. Beyond gender and race, team diversity issue in AI is also about skills. Historically, the kind of... Continue Reading →
Lisa Fittipaldi can tell which color she is using just by feeling the texture of the paint. Lisa is blind. Stephen Wiltshire is world famous architectural artist who created an 18 foot wide panoramic landscape of the skyline of New York City, after viewing it once during a 20 minute helicopter ride. Stephen is autistic. Keith is... Continue Reading →
I've lost count of the number of events I've attended in the past couple of years. Reflections, thoughts and more self notes on how to host an event for All. Be Bold wrt. Accessibility. If you plan to host an inclusive event, let the world know. Announce that the event is meant for All. People... Continue Reading →
I got a new Braille door sign! Talk about Accessible home renovation projects 🙂 When my kids asked me more about Braille, I decided to read up. Here’s what I found- Braille was not initially created for the blind. In 1819, the French army used it to communicate at night without speaking or using candles-... Continue Reading →
Online shopping just got Inclusive. One of the trickiest aspects of online shopping for me is using my imagination to picture myself in a dress I like. Well, Virtual fitting technology just took a leap with a simple Choose your model feature at Walmart Powered by Computer Vision, you can now choose the height, body shape... Continue Reading →
Not all disabilities are visible.Some are not immediately obvious. Think chronic pain, learning difficulties or sleep disorders when these significantly impact day-to-day life. Although we may not be able to see these invisible impairments and conditions, they’re still there. People living with these often face barriers in their daily lives including a lack of understanding... Continue Reading →
“The worst thing about a disability is that people see it before they see you.” – Easter Seals “The world worries about disability more than disabled people do.” – Warwick Davis “Labor should not be about creating monuments on hills or statues in parks. Labor’s monuments and statues are when a young person with disability can get access to... Continue Reading →
Would you confide in a mental health chatbot? One of the case studies I have most often quoted in my talks is WoeBot. And so, it was intriguing to read this article in Guardian- link in comments. Like other tech players in this space, concerns galore from inherent flaws/ glitches to ethical practices. Yet, people... Continue Reading →
As a coder, you may be thinking about accessibility for end users. Are you thinking about your peers as well? You may or may not be able to influence the accessibility of the operating system or coding tools. But, there are things every coder can. E.g., documentation and source control repositories Is your technical documentation... Continue Reading →
Here’s something to think about the next time you reach out for the TV remote. The remote control:Have you operated a TV without one? Many a war has been waged in the modern home to claim access to the remote control. What is a convenience for us today was first invented, in 1955 by American engineer... Continue Reading →
Liji Thomas 