The double edge of AI for people with disabilities

Matías Ferreira is 37 years old and began to suffer vision loss at the age of 20, while he was managing to enter university. This condition, generated from a hereditary optic neuropathy that can even cause blindness, hindered his academic and professional path. His eyesight no longer allowed him to read texts, and it made it impossible for him to continue with his work.

“As a result of the loss of vision I had to change, readjust my life. At university, I faced many barriers, and I decided to continue my degree at another institution where they were already working with reading materials in accessible formats. In this way, I managed to obtain a degree in Political Studies. At my job, I had to change roles within the same company and, over time, there was a reduction in staff and I was left without a job. Although it was not because of my disability, perhaps if I had been able to continue carrying out my previous job that would not have happened,” he told UN News in an interview that coincides with the International Day of People with Disabilities.

Access through applications and artificial intelligence

When Matías mentions accessibility to reading materials, refers to various tools that, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), are increasingly advanced and make it easier for any text to be available for people with visual disabilities or blind people.

An example is screen readers, which transform written texts into audio, and which also describe and narrate photos and graphics. To operate these applications it is necessary to learn certain key combinations and memorize them.

“Artificial intelligence is important; It is useful to improve accessibility. But there is a risk, and that is that human intelligence stops paying attention to people with disabilities and that the only method of raising awareness of things is through artificial intelligence. “It’s a big risk.”

Matías considers that “AI has to be another tool that helps us, for example, describe an image, a text, etc. But It cannot be the only method, because the day there is no internet, there is no electricity, or we run out of battery, we are helpless from support.Even the people we live with will not know how to live with us if we only rely on AI. It is a very important tool, but I believe that artificial intelligence does not have to go against human intelligence.”

Getting a job, the odyssey of people with disabilities

Among all the difficulties that people with disabilities face daily, Matías especially highlighted job placement.

“In the workplace, the most complex situation arises. There is a myth that people with disabilities are not as productive as people without disabilities. There is still a lot of ignorance on the part of employers about the levels of professional knowledge that we can achieve, and about the variety of tools that facilitate our performance.

The threshold of knowledge that we must have to access a job is much higher than that of people without disabilities. I have appeared for job interviews, and The recruiter is more interested in when I might go blind than in my abilities to execute the position.. Focus is lost, your knowledge, your skills, your efficiency or whether your profile adapts to what they are looking for is not prioritized.”

Due to all these barriers and prejudices, before being diagnosed with visual pathology, Matías already dedicated part of his time to activism for the rights of people with disabilities and, when he began to personally suffer from the barriers that prevent him from living his life normally , that fight became even more committed and vehement.

“I think I began to empathize because it is a cause that is still very invisible and that we had to dedicate time to it, since at the end of the day it was not just for me, but It was also for my acquaintances, for my friends, study colleagues, co-workers, for whoever it was or even for those who will come.. I participated as a volunteer in several civil society organizations such as the Argentine Federation of Institutions of People with Visual Disabilities, the Latin American Union of the Blind and some youth and union movements.”

There is progress in society, but it is slow

Matías believes that progress has been made in the treatment and empathy that society shows towards people with disabilities, although not at the speed that is needed.

“In 2006, the United Nations approved the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilitiesand in 2008, Argentina ratified it. In any case, the country always had quite good, cutting-edge legislation for what the region is.

Since the Convention, rights began to be made a little more visible worldwide. I also believe that it was very slow, because the condition has not so much to do with functional diversity, with whether you see or not see, whether you listen or not, but with barriers. Once one assumes their condition, what is most annoying are the barriers that prevent facilities to cover needs, and which are essential, such as an audio that indicates transport stops, adequate paths on the sidewalks, accessibility for web pages, banking applications , social networks. That is what is suffered the most: the lack of access, of equal conditions.

I believe that the UN can work very strongly on the inclusion of people with disabilities through the Strategy for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities, and on the dissemination and compliance of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in particular with what has to do with accessibility, labor inclusion, etc. People with disabilities can contribute to the UN with an inclusive perspective, aimed at breaking down attitudinal barriers, but also labor barriers. and also work for diversity within the United Nations,” said Matías.

A few months ago, Matías, who was out of work, received the news that the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Argentina had opened a call to fill a job position. Disability Inclusion Specialistan opportunity reserved for people with disabilities. The application was made through the United Nations Volunteer Programsince it is a volunteer service rented for one year, full-time.

After an arduous selection process, Matías was selected for the position. Since October, he has been working to contribute with his knowledge in order to implement the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy in the UN System in Argentina, made up of more than 20 agencies, funds and programs that develop projects in the country.

Matías Ferreira works as a specialist in Disability Inclusion at UN Argentina

When accessibility barriers leave dreams pending

In the effort to make the world accessible, tourism also owes its debts to people with disabilities, who are sometimes not allowed to take some excursions due to a lack of knowledge, resources or resolution capabilities of those who manage them.

Matías stated that he had two pending experiences that he could not carry out during his trips: one of them is sailing in a semi-rigid boat that travels through several of the waterfalls of the Iguazú Falls, not suitable for people with disabilities, as well as a walk on glaciers in Patagonia. He already had the No in the past, but is confident that at some point the regulations will be accessible while still being responsible and safe. In fact, He himself has thought of different suggestions so that the signaling system between guide and passengers is adequate.

His third activity, still relegated, is easier to achieve: playing soccer again, and to return to the field he has already obtained the fundamental element, the ball with internal bells, prepared for people with visual pathologies.

“There were two sports that I practiced when I still saw well, soccer and karting. The second one is still a little difficult, but for the first one I will soon inflate the ball and share that moment with my friends again.”