Library & Learning Services: Gen AI for Students: Gen AI and Accessibility

Protect your privacy and work! Use Conestoga's licence for Copilot, Microsoft's Gen AI tool.

Ensure you have checked with your instructor if and how you can use Copilot, and other Gen AI, for your assignment.

AI and Accessibility: Removing Barriers

Microsoft. (2018, May 7). Microsoft build: AI for accessibility. [Online video]. YouTube.

There are many aspects to AI and accessibility. One perspective is how it can improve accessibility when it comes to design, content and communication barriers in the world around us. Consider these examples when it comes to learning:

Table: AI Accessibility Tools and Learner Profiles
TOOL	LEARNER PROFILES
Meetings: Live captioning and translation	Deaf, deaf, deafened, or hard-of-hearing students	Neurodivergent students
Meetings: Live transcription and summary notes	Deaf, deaf, deafened, or hard-of-hearing students	Neurodivergent students	Handwriting/fine motor-based challenges
Automatic speech recognition	Students with handwriting/fine motor-based challenges	Blind or low-vision students	Students with print disabilities	[blank]
Writing/project idea prompts	Neurodivergent students	Students with initiation challenges (blank/white page syndrome)	[blank]	[blank]
Information retrieval-based study tools	All students	[blank]	[blank]	[blank]

Accessibility and AI Fails

While there are exciting opportunities for AI to help make the world more accessible and inclusive, AI can also continue to close out and exclude many segments of the world. Those who already face challenges with accessibility are especially vulnerable:

See Consider This: Ethics, Biases and Misinformation under Learn More About Gen AI of this resource for more information.
See What ChatGPT thinks about how AI can help disabled people for concerns that require particular vigilance for persons with disabilities.

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AI and Accessibility: Removing Barriers

Accessibility and AI Fails