We live in a world mediated by technology, in which any social, formal or informal interaction is produced through some type of technological mediation that influences its nature and development: we maintain contact with family and friends on social networks; We organize plans by WhatsApp, we work with email; We inform ourselves in the online press and access culture through platforms. Even in the reflective relationship with ourselves, technology intervenes: we plan our agenda in Outlook and keep our memories in the mobile or cloud gallery.
But if medium technology all our relationships, access difficulties cease to be a technical problem to become a social issue. Not accessing technology is equivalent to not accessing society, since social participation spaces are behind an interface, normally a screen.
Accessibility: The social function of technology
Accessibility is an essential principle of design if we want technology to maintain its social function and contribute positively to collective well -being. And we are all likely to run out of access.
Unlike what many believe, it is not an issue whose impact only affects certain groups, such as older or disabilities. It affects anyone whose social or personal situation places him after a barrier (economic, educational, cultural, etc.) that prevents him from accessing technology, and with it, his full participation in social life.
In this context, access to the capacities that artificial intelligence offers today has become a matter of vital importance, especially taking into account its enormous capacity to transform other technologies.
It is not unreasonable to think that its future development can reduce, even more, the accessibility of digital spaces, creating new forms of exclusion for those who already face social or technological obstacles.
In this sense, from the perspective of the user experience (UX) essential issues arise: Is it understandable for the entire population to maintain a conversation with an AI? Are there technical support that allow people with sensory disabilities (such as blind or deaf people) to interact with these systems and benefit from the same advantages as the rest? Are the conversational bots designed to communicate effectively with people who have speech alterations derived from brain damage or other conditions?
Beyond the above, it should be reflected on economic accessibility to this technology: will it remain possible to use AI in low -power and cost devices, common among the population with less resources? Will free or affordable access models persist, or will it tend to concentrate on high purchasing power segments due to the investment increase that it will require in the coming years?
These questions are just a sample of the multiple dilemmas about AI accessibility that are already present and that will intensify according to their adoption is generalized in society. It is insufficient to highlight the potential benefits of an ethical AI in personal and professional fields if their deployment leaves behind vulnerable groups or with less access capacity. AI would thus become another tool of inequality and exclusion.
By Rafael Count Melguizo – Researcher and Professor at the University of Design, Innovation and Technology (UDIT)
