Accessibility
Could Autonomous Car Technology and AI Transform Homecare for the Elderly?
With backgrounds in medicine and health economics, we have long been interested in how the latest technologies can augment our ability to care for each other. Today, with the world’s population over 60 expected to more than double by 2050, growing faster than all other younger groups, the need for more innovative, scalable approaches to […]
How IBM’s ‘Team Able’ Runs Through Accessiblity Challenges
On, Thursday, May 16, IBM site locations and iX Design Studios across the U.S. will celebrate the eighth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) – a worldwide observation to raise awareness of digital access and inclusion issues for people with disabilities. As an IBMer with a disability, and a founding member of IBM’s Team Able, […]
Celebrating Neurodiversity
World Autism Awareness Day ushers in a month of heightened awareness of neurodiversity issues at the national and global levels. As the neurotypical population seeks to increase its understanding of issues related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it is important to recognize and appreciate the diversity within the ASD community. Individuals with ASD or other […]
Promoting Fair Treatment of Persons with Disabilities with AI
International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to increase awareness and promote the well-being of people with disabilities in every aspect of life. Fair treatment means equal opportunity to access education, find employment, receive healthcare, find information, and participate in society. Increasingly, our education, healthcare, recruitment, and information systems involve technologies based on machine learning. […]
The Totality of International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2018
We often hear stories about people with disabilities telling either their struggles and challenges, or the incredible, “super-human” things they can do. It’s always an extreme end of the spectrum, helpless or heroes. It’s time for us to recognize that such generalizations are as dehumanizing as simply ignoring the contributions of people with disabilities. A […]
What the ADA Has Meant to Me
Man, I’m old. I can’t believe it’s been 28 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law in the US. Sure, twenty-eight years is a blip on a screen in the grand scheme of humankind, but when I think of all that’s changed, personally and for disability rights, it seems like eons. On July […]
Accessibility: The Intersection of Innovation and Inclusion
On this seventh Global Accessibility Awareness Day, let’s talk, think and learn about digital accessibility, inclusion and people with disabilities. As a researcher, I enjoy technology, especially when it comes to helping people with disabilities. Over the years, our team has invented and developed many new technologies that enable accessibility. I would like to share […]
Clarifying the Complex with a ‘Simpler Voice’
As smart as the phones in our pockets are, they’re not built to interpret the written word. Low-literate adults, of whom there are 757 million worldwide, including 32 million in the United States, instead rely on visual cues for recognition and comprehension. So, as part of IBM Research’s Science for Social Good initiative, our team […]
Committed to Technology Equality for People with Disabilities
The year 2017 will be remembered as a major milestone in the relationship between technology and equality. Earlier this year, updates were finally approved to the Section 508 Amendment of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that transformed turn-of-the-century accessibility guidelines for procurement and services of the U.S. federal government to encompass modern challenges and […]
Pushing the Boundaries of Inclusive Tech on the 26th Anniversary of the ADA
We want to recognize the 26th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and salute its impact in helping create a more inclusive society. This anniversary is an important reminder that we all need to continue to eliminate barriers in the physical and online worlds so people with disabilities and the aging population can […]