In the present day we kick off the 14th Microsoft Means Summit, an annual occasion to deliver collectively thought leaders to debate how we speed up accessibility to assist bridge the Incapacity Divide.
There are three key themes to this 12 months’s summit: Construct, Think about, and Embody. “Construct” invitations us to discover methods to construct accessibly and inclusively by leaning on the insights of disabled expertise. “Think about” dives into finest practices for architecting accessible buildings, occasions, content material and merchandise. And “Embody” highlights the problems and alternatives AI presents for creators, builders and engineers.
Katy Jo Wright and Dave McCarthy focus on Katy Jo’s journey dwelling with the complicated incapacity, Power Lyme Illness. Get insights from deaf creator and performer Leila Hanaumi; worldwide accessibility leaders Sara Minkara, U.S. Particular Advisor on Worldwide Incapacity Rights, U.S. Division of State; and Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer, Authorities of Canada. And we’ll be digging into psychological well being with singer, actor and psychological well being advocate, Michelle Williams.
We’ll even be launching a number of issues alongside the way in which.
Advancing accessible know-how
Accessible know-how is essential to empowering the 1.3 billion-plus folks with disabilities globally. With this new chapter of AI, the chances are rising, as is the duty to get it proper. We’re studying the place AI could be impactful, from the potential to shorten the hole between ideas and motion, to creating it simpler to code and create. However there’s extra to do, and we are going to proceed to leverage each instrument within the know-how toolbox to advance accessibility.
In the present day we’ll be highlighting the most recent know-how and instruments from Microsoft to assist obtain this purpose together with:
- Copilot for Home windows, making accessibility simpler. Starting late March 2024, new accessibility expertise are being enabled in Home windows. Ask Copilot for Home windows to launch Reside Captions, Narrator and different accessibility options. Extra: Home windows Weblog
- M365 empowering creators to construct accessible content material. Together with Accessibility Assistant, a set of instruments to assist creators produce accessible content material accessible right this moment in Insider preview for Phrase and sharing that Outlook and PowerPoint are coming quickly! Ales Holecek may also be sharing some examples and early analysis on neurodiversity and M365 Copilot which reduces time to create content material and shortens the hole between ideas and motion.
- Azure AI for Accessibility, right this moment sharing six new examples together with:
- Seeing AI is now accessible in an extra 14 languages (complete 33) and will likely be rolling out the most recent generative AI fashions, together with richer descriptions of pictures and chat functionality for photographs and paperwork.
- Azure AI Audio Description answer accelerator, new upcoming answer accelerator that makes use of Azure GPT-4 Turbo with Imaginative and prescient to explain movies for people who find themselves blind or low imaginative and prescient. WPP will likely be demonstrating how this works, and the answer accelerator is now open for sign-ups.
Expertise also can assist deal with lengthy enduring challenges, like discovering a treatment for ALS (Motor Neuron Illness). With Azure, we’re proudly supporting ALS Remedy Improvement Institute (TDI) and Reply ALS to virtually double the medical and genomic knowledge accessible for analysis. In 2021, Reply ALS offered open entry to its analysis by an Azure Information Portal, Neuromine. This knowledge has since enabled over 300 unbiased analysis tasks world wide. The addition of ALS TDI’s knowledge from the continuing ALS Analysis Collaborative (ARC) examine will permit researchers to speed up the journey to discover a treatment.
We may also be previewing a few of our ongoing work to make use of Customized Neural Voice to empower folks with ALS and different speech disabilities to have their voice. We’ve been working with the neighborhood together with Workforce Gleason for a while and are dedicated to creating certain this know-how is used for good and plan to launch later within the 12 months.
Accessibility as a elementary proper
To construct inclusively in an more and more digital world, we have to shield elementary rights and will likely be sharing partnerships advancing this throughout the neighborhood all through the day.
This consists of:
- A dialogue with Ilene Arenberg and Tanya Harris on entry to aggressive built-in employment and financial fairness, speaking concerning the office and truthful compensation.
- The British Affiliation for Supported Employment (BASE) will share their work to help disabled, neurodivergent and deprived folks within the U.Ok. to search out and keep careers. They’ve been rising digital expertise utilizing Microsoft Groups and neighborhood coaching to modernize the supported employment sector.
- The Starvation Undertaking will discuss concerning the significance of connectivity as a basis to accessibility. It’s working with neighborhood companions in Malawi and world wide to offer entry to connectivity and help for accessible areas, coaching supplies and digital accessibility.
- Rijksmuseum will focus on their partnership with the blind and low imaginative and prescient neighborhood to deliver detailed textual content descriptions to over 1 million items of artwork utilizing Azure AI Laptop Imaginative and prescient and Azure OpenAI. This video brings the expertise to life.
Subsequent steps, accelerating your accessibility journey
All by the Means Summit, trade leaders will likely be sharing their learnings and finest practices. In the present day we’re posting 4 new Microsoft playbooks, sharing our learnings from engaged on our bodily, occasion and digital surroundings. This features a new Psychological Well being toolkit, with suggestions for product makers to construct experiences that help psychological well being situations, created in partnership with Psychological Well being America. And “Constructing Accessible Campus,” with finest practices from our International Office Providers staff, liable for our world constructing footprint together with the brand new Redmond headquarters campus.
Please be a part of us to look at content material on demand through www.aka.ms/AbilitySummit. Technical help is all the time accessible through Microsoft’s Incapacity Reply Desk. Thanks in your partnership and dedication to construct a extra accessible future for folks with disabilities world wide.