ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS ENABLING DISABILITY ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION

BY GARIMA JAIN

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the theory and development of computer programs to build smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.1 John McCarthy is recognized as the father of Artificial Intelligence.2 In the mid-1950s, he coined the term "Artificial Intelligence" which he defined as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines."

Artificial intelligence is not all abstract and futuristic notions seen in sci-fi films with humanoid robots and holograms. It's much more grounded in our reality and assisting with elevating accessibility barriers for individuals with disabilities using different solutions such as image recognition for people with a visual impairment, facial recognition for people with a visual impairment, lip-reading recognition for people with a hearing impairment, text summarization for people with a mental impairment, and real-time captioning or translations for people with a hearing impairment or even people who don't speak the language.3