Business Disability Forum poll finds that disabled people are key to AI accessibility
Two-fifths (40%) of disabled adults surveyed believe that designing, developing and testing AI products with disabled people is key to making them more accessible, according to a new poll conducted by Business Disability Forum with Opinium.
The poll of 1,032 disabled UK adults asked respondents for their views on how to improve AI accessibility for disabled people. Other top answers given included creating more user-friendly interfaces (38%), greater availability of information about how AI can support disabled people (37%), and more support to help disabled people get started with AI (36%).
Views were also sought on how AI could help disabled people now and in the future. Findings show that over a third of disabled adults surveyed believe that AI tools can help disabled people by improving communications (38%) and improving online experiences (34%).
Other commonly cited benefits include improved access to healthcare information and communication (33%), better access to education (32%) improved accessibility of digital content (32%), support for independent living (31%), improved customer experience (25%) and better access to employment and experience in the workplace (24%).
At the same time, however, 1 in 5 disabled adults surveyed (20%) said they did not think AI products could help disabled people or did not know if they would (18%).
These views broadly align with those of the UK population as a whole, based on a wider poll conducted by Opinium of 2,000 UK adults who were asked the same questions. Over a third (34%) of all UK adults surveyed said designing and developing AI products with disabled people would make AI more accessible.
Lara Davis, Communications Director at Business Disability Forum, said:“There is the potential for AI products and tools to make a radical and positive difference to disabled people’s lives, but there is also the risk that disabled people could be left behind. With AI developing at pace and 1 in 4 people experiencing disability at some point in their lives, this is not an issue that we can afford to overlook.
“Businesses, AI developers and employers must actively consult with their disabled consumers and employees to make sure they are involved in the design, development and testing of AI products to assess their suitability. Disabled people also need better access to information and advice about AI, more generally.”
Lucy Ruck leads Business Disability Forum’s Tech Taskforce. She said: “AI has the capacity to transform lives, but only if we get inclusion right from the start. Making sure that disabled people are active participants in shaping this technology isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s how we build AI that genuinely serves everyone.”
