Technology improves for people with disabilities as firms respond to moral, legal demands

Over the last few years, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft have leveraged artificial intelligence, computer vision and advances in voice recognition to deliver tools to assist blind individuals and people who are deaf, have motor impairments or other disabilities. At the same time, new technologies such as voice-activated speakers and more captioning on websites and in social media have widened access to some internet services. Development of these specialized features are driven by a confluence of factors – a  desire by tech leaders to be more inclusive, but also the need to satisfy legal and market imperatives. Companies must adhere to the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires the federal government to make electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. And many states have their own Section-508-type requirements or consumer-protection statutes.

Laws have provided the biggest benefit to blind people, because “you can’t count on people’s compassion to drive industry,” says Anil Lewis, executive director for the Jernigan Institute at National Federation of the Blind.