Beyond Barriers: How AI and Smart Tech Are Bridging the Gap

Growing up, I was fortunate to have a good balance of blind and sighted friends. Even as early as preschool, I remember being in some mainstream classes, which allowed those kids to learn about blindness at a very early age. I think that’s why I feel like I’ve always been able to relate to sighted people. My blindness doesn’t make me feel excluded very often, especially with all the technology that has become available to us over the years.

Within the last few years, there have been a lot of advancements in AI, specifically when it comes to blind people having access to image descriptions. It started in the summer of 2023 when I began using the Be My Eyes AI feature, which would allow me to take pictures and have AI describe them. I could also have the AI describe pictures that were sent to me. This was huge, and I remember getting so excited when I got access to it. I spent a good portion of the day showing it off to friends and family.

Now, three years later, with the help of Be My Eyes and also the Access AI feature of Aira, it’s so fun to have the same access to pictures sent in my family group chat. This means a lot to me,  especially since I live so far from them. I can send my friends pictures of my day just like they do. I even joined Instagram in 2024, which is something I had contemplated doing since getting access to the AI feature. In a weird way, it makes me feel less blind, as I often say. I can take pictures just like everyone else does and relate to my friends even more now. Plus, it’s so much fun describing this technology to them. It helps them realize that inclusion goes a long way in helping us relate to others.

There’s a lot of technology that sighted people use all the time that have good features for blind people. My most recent new tech gadget is the Meta AI Glasses. I heard that these were originally designed for content creators. Now, their main features are capturing videos and photos, but they also come with Meta AI, allowing me to ask questions like, “Hey Meta, what do you see?” and getting a description of my surroundings.

My first time explaining this to someone was early this year when I was waiting for a friend at a restaurant. The AI told me that the restaurant was decorated with colorful lights. When my friend arrived, she also described it to me, and I jokingly told her I already knew this because my glasses told me. I was never the type to really wonder what’s around me until I had technology that could tell me exactly what’s around me. So now I can always get descriptions of my environment, but I can also take pictures and send videos just like my sighted friends and family.

I also know a lot of people that use the Amazon Alexa or Google devices for things like alarms, reminders, calendars, shopping lists, and smart-home devices. This is another one of those things I’ve been curious about. Were these designed originally for blind people? I’m not sure. But these are devices that can be used by both blind and sighted people alike. Just like closed captions, which were originally designed for the deaf and hard of hearing, plenty of people use them now even if they don’t need to rely on them.

Something else I’ve realized a lot over the years, especially since moving out on my own here in Texas and being so far from family, is that I feel more connected to people as I gain more independence, especially in terms of travel. I travel just like they do. It may take extra time because I need extra assistance, but I share the same experiences. I can share rideshare stories, airport stories, and talk about how fun it is to take the train far distances. These experiences connect us all because we’re just like everyone else, traveling and experiencing the world and feeling liberated just like they might. I’ve even had some friends reach out and ask questions about rideshare apps, since they don’t use it as often as I do and they aren’t familiar with how the service works. It just made me feel more included. Rideshares may be used more frequently by people with disabilities, but everyone has access to them and can use them. And it’s these moments when I revel in the fact that my blindness is just part of my identity, but I share so much of the world with everyone else. I can educate them on how I do things when necessary, but we share a lot of the same experiences.

I really feel as though this has helped me strengthen my connections. It’s so much fun when I explain technology to others and how I use it and I can really feel their intrigue. It’s not always just their fascination with how I use it, but sometimes I’m teaching them features they may not know about. I taught my sister how to use SharePlay, which is essentially sharing your screen with another iPhone user over FaceTime and playing something off of YouTube, Netflix, or any other streaming service that both parties have. We learn from each other and those experiences help us feel connected to one another.

I have always tried to live by the mantra that my blindness is part of my story, but it is not my whole story. It has never stopped me from maintaining friendships and connecting with other people. We share the same experiences, use the same technology, and connect on so many levels that it doesn’t have to be our entire identity. We’re still people who seek connection, and I’m fortunate to have the connections I do with the people I have in my life.