What Tools do Blind People Need in the Digital Age?

The Be My Eyes Podcast

Technology is a world of possibility. It offers greater knowledge, ease, and access, these days in the palm of our hand. If you're a blind or low vision consumer with a smartphone, you can use it to get visual information on demand – whether from a robot or a real person. Chancey Fleet is a tech educator at the New York City Public Library, she’s obsessed with all types of technology, and particularly focused on the evolution of assistive tech. She’s also fascinated by the proliferation of visual interpretation as a service and at times quite bluntly critical of their impact on our lives. For our fourth episode of the Be My Eyes Podcast, Chancey joins Hans and Julia to explain why visual interpreters are such a big deal when it comes to accessibility, data rights, and innovation. She also raises lots of questions: How can technology foster and hinder accessibility? Why must accessibility be understood as a civil right? How can disabled people become active agents in the development of technology as opposed to just the inspiration behind the design? In our discussion, we tackle that trope and shout-out to the original life-hackers: disabled people. Listen in!