This document discusses the future of digital accessibility in an age of artificial intelligence. It outlines several AI technologies like image recognition, facial recognition, and automated translation algorithms that could help improve accessibility. However, it also notes that over 2 billion jobs may disappear by 2030 due to AI, and that the future of many web-related professions may become teaching AI systems. It concludes by suggesting that boundaries between user experience and accessibility will fade as accessibility is integrated into all aspects of design, and encourages exploring what more AI could mean for the future of accessibility.

1. a11y.AI
Digital accessibility in the age
of artificial intelligence#WAQ18

2. Accessibility, to most people

3. WCAG…
Silver…
The potential…
The craft…
The future...
Artificial
intelligence

4. INFJ. Inclusive design. Public speaking. a11y/UX. AI. Ambivert. Fighting for the users with
a healthy balance of pragmatism, empathy & dropping axe kick knockouts.
Deque Systems / Knowbility / W3C
Denis Boudreau
dboudreau

5. Primitive a11y
and assistive
technologies
Accessibility is dependent
on our good will. Towards
a breaking point?

6. 2016: the ultimate man vs. machine smackdown!

7. AI is all the
rage right
now!!!
Bullshit alert, x100
Machine learning
Predictive notions

8. Simple tasks,
computing
power & data
Exposure to massive amount
of data. Error rate reduction.

9. 1A few AI
bricks for
accessibility

10. Image
recognition
algorithms

11. Facial
recognition
algorithms

12. Lip reading
recognition
algorithms

13. Sign language
recognition
algorithms

14. Automated
translation
algorithms

15. Abstractive
summarization
algorithms

16. Automated
caption
algorithms

17. Conversation
recognition
algorithms

18. Voice UI,
chatbots and
natural UIs
Towards the ambient Web,
(all hail for Internet 4.0!)

19. Advances in machine learning
mean that voice recognition has
gone from a high error rate (>25%)
to a low rate (<5%) - i.e. it basically
works almost all the time.
This is the Year of Voice UI
https://www.cooper.com/journal/2017/5/this-is-the-year-of-voice-ui

20. Artificial intelligence systems are
going to be an extension of our
brains, the same way cars are an
extension of our legs. They're not
going to replace us, they’re going
to amplify everything we do,
augmenting our memory, giving us
instant knowledge. And they're
going to allow us to concentrate
on doing things that are properly
human.
- Yann Lecun
Director, Facebook AI

21. 2The future of
accessibility
and the web

22. Over 2 billion jobs will
have disappeared by
2030. Just to put it into
perspective, that number
represents half of all the
jobs in the world.
- Dr. Thomas Frey
Futurist speaker

24. The Grid, Wix
ADI, Pix2Code
The age of sites entirely designed by AI is
upon us. This shit is real, folks. Are you ready?

25. Profession:
AI coach
What if the future of the trades of the Web
becomes, in part, teaching AI systems?

26. What future for
accessibility?
Boundaries between user experience and
accessibility will finally fade. UX all the things!

27. 5And so… what
to make of all
of this?
Explore and go wild!

28. To be continued…
Thank you.
Denis Boudreau
Deque Systems
@dboudreau