Digital Accessibility News

Only halfway through and the year's already been a whirlwind of both technological advancements and unwelcome changes, from the continued hype around artificial intelligence to the ups and downs of social media giants. Similarly, within the push for greater digital accessibility and improvements in assistive technology, 2023 has ushered in immense successes and unfortunate failures among the industry's leading forces and pioneers — a clash...

At Build 2023, Microsoft made quite a big deal about its headlining announcement, the Windows Copilot. The idea is simple: build AI right into the operating system. In the same way that the Edge browser (and soon the entire stack of Office apps) have their own AI copilots, now Windows will have one too. But in talking to the leader of Microsoft’s Windows (and Surface) group,...

Like Airbnb and Intel and Netflix and Salesforce, all major players who’ve spent time in this space’s spotlight, play a game of word association with GitHub and “accessibility” likely isn’t the first word that springs to mind. And yet, the truth is accessibility is as important to GitHub as its peers in the industry. GitHub describes its ethos as “[accelerating] human progress through developer collaboration,”...

In a blog post, Facebook parent company Meta on Tuesday announced a slew of new software updates for its Ray-Ban Stories smart sunglasses. The post was penned by Meta’s Reality Labs team. “We continue improving [Ray-Ban Stories] with regular software updates and new features. Today, we’re excited to share the latest on how we’re making the smart glasses experience better, more powerful, and more intuitive over time,”...

The author of an independent review of the province's Accessibility Act says there is much work to do if Nova Scotia is to meet its target of being fully accessible by 2030. "We're definitely not where we need to be," Katie Aubrecht, Canada Research Chair in Health Equity and Social Justice and an associate professor in the St. Francis Xavier University department of sociology, said in...

Despite the boom in Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming services in India — a report by Media Partners Asia released this month estimates that one leading platform is closing in on 20 million paying subscribers — there is a huge gap in the accessibility of content for visually and hearing-impaired viewers. However, regulations for streaming in India explicitly recommend that streaming services make an effort to have...

On May 19, 2023, the Justice Department and the Department of Education jointly issued a Dear Colleague Letter reminding colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions to ensure that their online services, programs, and activities are accessible to people with disabilities. Many colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions increasingly rely on their websites and third-party online platforms to provide services, programs, and activities to members of the public. ...

May 18 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), which is a moment for everyone to talk, think, and learn about digital access and inclusion. With over one billion people with disabilities in the world, this work extends beyond a single day — especially for teams at Google that work to make the world a more accessible place. Here’s a look at new and recently launched...

More than one billion people worldwide live with a disability – this includes over 6.2 million Canadians. Whether it’s visual, motor, cognitive or mental health-related, living with a disability can limit a person’s employment opportunities, can make it more difficult to access services, and can put everyday activities out of reach. It doesn’t have to be this way. By leveraging technology, we can make the...

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the 12th anniversary of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) urges the United States government to close the digital inclusion gap for Americans with disabilities and act immediately to fulfill the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the digital age. In April 2023, AFB released a new report examining barriers to digital...

Apple today previewed software features for cognitive, vision, hearing, and mobility accessibility, along with innovative tools for individuals who are nonspeaking or at risk of losing their ability to speak. These updates draw on advances in hardware and software, include on-device machine learning to ensure user privacy, and expand on Apple’s long-standing commitment to making products for everyone. ...

When Bold Glamour launched on TikTok earlier this year, it started a storm on social media. The viral beautifying filter uses machine learning technology to edit users’ facial features in photographs and video, sculpting cheekbones, smoothing out skin and brightening eyes, all with unsettling realism. Some on social media were impressed by the technology, but many expressed concern about the way filters can promote unrealistic beauty...