The AI gold rush has led to new AI models and systems being announced nearly every week. As with most new technologies, these systems have the potential to reduce existing accessibility problems, but may also create new ways to exclude people with disabilities. Beyond its impact on traditional accessibility practices, AI may fundamentally change the relationship between people and user interfaces. In this talk I’ll discuss my prior work in accessible technology and Ability-Based Design, and consider how new AI-powered systems may change how system designers, UX practitioners, and end users may think about and engage with the concept of accessibility.

Shaun Kane is a research scientist in Society-Centered AI & Machine Learning at Google Research, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research focuses on understanding emerging accessibility problems and empowering people and organizations to solve these problems. He is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and the ACM SIGACCESS Paper Impact Award. He received his Ph.D. from The Information School at the University of Washington in 2011.