When I think about the pace of innovation, I often come back to something as everyday as the smartphone. Just over a decade ago, people were typing texts on number pads and browsing the web on clunky WAP browsers. Today, we hold in our pockets devices that respond to our voice, recognise our faces, and translate languages in real time.
The difference comes from relentless innovation and a refusal to accept limitations as permanent. That same mindset is exactly what we need when talking about accessible technology and ensuring compliance.
That same mindset needs to shape how we talk about AI and accessibility. Or, to borrow from Isaac Asimov, it’s time we stopped treating technology like a magic trick and started seeing it as the inevitable product of human curiosity and engineering.
Continue reading to find out how technology has always accelerated inclusion, how AI accessibility tools are already reshaping daily life, and why the responsibility to build inclusive systems rests with all of us.
Technology Has Always Driven Accessible Technology
Before you read any further, take a moment to look around you. The chair you’re sitting on, the room you’re in, and the screen you’re reading this on are all the products of thousands of years of innovation. Hominids began crafting tools nearly three million years ago. It took until just 10,000 years ago for agriculture to emerge, but only a few centuries for electricity, the web, and now AI to reshape our world.
Innovation follows a logarithmic pattern. What once took millennia now takes decades, or even years. With that pace of change comes the opportunity, and responsibility, to embed inclusion from the start. AI and accessibility must move forward together so progress benefits everyone.
That is why starting at the foundation matters and why design system accessibility assessments can be so effective for building inclusion into products from the beginning.
Time to Drop the Pessimism Around AI and Accessibility
There’s a growing narrative that says, “AI can’t solve accessibility.” Although perhaps well-intentioned, this sentiment risks slowing down the very innovation we need.
Dismissive attitudes like these are more than just cautious; they are limiting. They keep accessibility reactive instead of allowing it to lead. In a field already playing catch-up with rapid digital transformation, the last thing we need is to reject progress because it is not perfect today. Embracing AI and accessibility together means recognising that progress often comes before perfection. For organisations, that also means focusing on how to stay accessible as technology evolves, rather than waiting until barriers become too deeply embedded.
It’s the same kind of caution that Asimov warned about when he wrote:
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”
We must catch up wisely.
How AI Accessibility Tools Are Already Changing the Game
AI is no longer a distant promise. It is already transforming daily life and shaping new forms of AI assistive technology that improve independence, communication, and mobility. These tools are not theoretical concepts. They are practical solutions being used today:
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Live captions in Zoom, Google Meet, and YouTube have changed how Deaf and hard-of-hearing users engage in digital spaces.
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Apps like Seeing AI and Be My Eyes are reshaping independence for people who are blind or have low vision.
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Tools such as Voiceitt and Tobii Dynavox enhance communication for people with atypical or non-verbal speech.
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AI-powered navigation tools and smart wheelchairs are improving autonomy for people with mobility challenges.
Ensuring that these kinds of solutions deliver real impact for the people who rely on them is why audits and inclusive user testing are essential in accessibility practice.
No tool is perfect. Perfection was never the point. Progress is. AI accessibility tools remind us that science is not only about end results but also about creating new ways of thinking and opening access along the way.
Why AI Assistive Technology Needs Automation to Scale
The accessibility field has always faced scepticism around automation. Some argue that automated testing cannot replace human judgement, but that is not the point. Automation is not here to replace manual testing. It is here to scale it.
With over a billion websites and millions of daily code updates, manual testing alone will never keep up. Automated tools already catch 50–60 percent of likely accessibility issues in seconds instead of hours. They are not a silver bullet, but they are a vital part of the AI assistive technology toolkit. That is why many organisations rely on website accessibility monitoring to keep pace with constant updates and ensure issues are caught before they impact users.
History reminds us of this pattern. The Luddites once feared weaving machines would destroy their craft. Automation did not end textile work; it scaled it. The same is true today. Automation increases efficiency, consistency, and reach. The better our tools become, the more time and resources we can devote to human-centred, high-impact accessibility work.
Beyond ChatGPT: AI and Accessibility in Everyday Tools
AI is not limited to chatbots or content generation. Fields such as speech recognition, computer vision, predictive text, and semantic understanding are making huge strides. To limit our thinking to today’s generative tools is to miss the bigger picture of AI and accessibility.
Weaknesses we see today do not define the future. Technology that once felt clunky often becomes essential. Screen readers, predictive text, and automated alt text were once experimental but are now embedded by default. Over time, AI will drive accessibility features that are not only more precise but also better integrated into the tools people use every day.
Why This Matters for Accessibility
AI is becoming foundational infrastructure, on par with electricity and the web. Waiting to see how it turns out is not an option. The accessibility community must play an active role in shaping the future of AI for accessibility from the start. That means:
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Advocating for inclusive training datasets
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Pushing for adaptable and context-aware accessibility features
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Building ethical frameworks that prioritise equity and dignity
If we dismiss AI, we risk letting others train models without inclusive datasets or design systems that exclude by default. If we lean into it, we can:
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Help AI better interpret complex interfaces and fill accessibility gaps
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Guide the development of tools that adapt to users, not the other way around
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Shape inclusive datasets and testing environments
Strong governance for accessibility makes these principles sustainable, ensuring inclusion is embedded in how AI evolves rather than left to chance.
Imagine an AI that can:
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Auto-generate accurate alt text based on context
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Improve keyboard-only navigation by dynamically adjusting content order
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Personalise voice or visual outputs based on user preferences
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Translate sign language in real time or overlay live captions in AR glasses
These ideas are not science fiction. Many are already in development. Even if they were fiction, history shows us that imagined futures often become reality. From Jules Verne predicting submarines to Star Trek communicators inspiring mobile phones, the line between speculation and reality is often thinner than we expect.
We should embrace semi-automated testing pipelines, real-time design feedback, and smarter developer tools that catch accessibility flaws before they go live. That is not replacement; it is enhancement.
The Responsibility to Shape Accessible Technology
AI is not here to replace accessibility professionals. It is here to support them and help scale inclusion in ways that were not possible before. That will only happen if we engage and lead.
We can be sceptical and optimistic, critical and curious, but we cannot afford to be disengaged. If we are not guiding how AI grows, it will grow without us and without the inclusion we have worked so hard to build.
Change will not wait. We need to shape it.
AI is not a threat to accessibility. It is one of the most powerful tools we have ever had to improve it. As Octavia Butler once said, “All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you.” The future of accessible technology is in our hands. Let’s make sure it is a future that works for everyone.
Ready to turn intent into action? Book a remediation meeting today to start removing barriers with confidence.