Can AI Make You Care About Accessibility?

The web is (still) not ‘accessible’. This is not due to a lack of guidelines, tools or profit prospects. But perhaps empathy. Can the storytelling capabilities of generative AI be used to inspire action among those in charge of a more inclusive web: designers, developers, you?

Digital access is a right, not a privilege. Yet only 4% of the world’s one million largest websites are fully accessible. Why is that? And what can we do about it? The guidelines are good, the tools are there - and it has long been known that accessibility pays off. What could then still be missing? A lack of awareness and empathy? How can this empathy be created and used to inspire action by those responsible for a more inclusive web?

With ’A11y-AI' we tried to find out, and showed that generative AI can be the answer. It utilises the storytelling capabilities of generative AI to transform technically abstract accessibility reports into more tangible user perspectives. Designers, developers and other web managers can test their pages with the help of the synthetic users Claudia and Cosmo and understand within seconds what barriers are involved - and what individual impact they have on them.

But how helpful are the results really? How much empathy do they generate? And is AI even the right tool for the job? - We introduce you to Claudia and Cosmo, interview them live about some websites and discuss the potential of generated empathy with you.