Microsoft celebrates Global Accessibility Awareness Day with ChatGPT
OpenAI and Microsoft offer to be your eyes.
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Microsoft celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) for its 12th year, championing innovative efforts, including generative AI tools powered byChatGPT-4. Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie covered their first-hand experiencesin a blog post, sharing announcements of a brand-new pilot program to assist those with low vision and other degrees of blindness.
Its Global Accessibility Awareness Day! #Accessibility is a fundamental right and part of @Microsoft’s DNA. Today, we’re proud to launch new programs and technologies in AI, Office, Gaming, Skilling and partnerships: https://t.co/4bKGUVDxXX#GAAD #GAAD2023 pic.twitter.com/89g5yQzvKLMay 18, 2023
Expanding on its existing partnership with BeMyEyes,Microsoftis bringing AI advancements to the service that can help reduce to need for sighted assistants offering their services via video calls. Previously, users with sight restrictions could receive help perceiving items and other general surroundings from a human, with fantastic feedback resulting in an average 4.5 out of 5 rating for customer satisfaction.
..introducing Virtual Volunteer that can provide 500 million of its users with detailed AI-generated descriptions of the world without needing a sighted person.
One of four leading brands joining theVirtual Volunteer Corporate Beta Test, Microsoft continues its philanthropic efforts by harnessing the almost limitless potential of generative AI like ChatGPT to improve customer service via theDisability Answer Desk. Users will be able to feed images to a dedicated app and receive interpretations of what can be seen, including object descriptions alongside deciphered text.
Alongside the expansion into customer service accessibility with AI, Microsoft highlighted itsefforts to improve accessibility in Xboxand tools for Microsoft 365 apps likeaccessibility checking built into Office. Living with a disabled partner means these advancements are always beneficial to our home, and seeing the borderline limitless potential of OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft applied to accessibility is particularly exciting.
Check outJenny Lay-Flurrie’s full blog postfor helpful links to specific accessibility tools offered around Microsoft’s ecosystem. BeMyEyes has been a rousing success so far and promises to become an even more empowering tool for those with sight restrictions.
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Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
