In the debate about artificial intelligence, we often speak of the risks: technological unemployment, surveillance, algorithmic bias. But there is also another side of the coin, the more light and less explored: that of inclusion.
Why is the AI, if designed with care and responsibility, can become a powerful tool to break down barriers and reduce inequalities. With the entry into force of the European Accessibility Act by 28 June 2025, the accessibility of digital becomes mandatory for many companies in Europe, making the digital inclusion is not only an ethical objective, but a legal necessity and concrete.
The Problem of Exclusion Digital
For many people, access to technology is to participate in the public life, learning, work, and communicate. And yet, millions of people remain excluded disability, age, condition, social or cultural.
According to the Council of the European Union, the 27% of the EU population over 16 years old and lives with some form of disability – we talk about 101 million people: 1 adult to 4. For the most part, the digital that we use every day is not designed for their needs.
It is here that the artificial intelligence can make all the difference. Not to replace the human, but to make it more free.
Technologies Voice: The Voice As A Bridge
Voice interfaces open up new possibilities for those who can not use a keyboard or a touch screen. Virtual assistants such as those integrated in smartphones and home devices let you send messages, search for information, adjust the environment with the item.
For a person with motor disabilities, this is not only comfortable, it is autonomy.
The same is true for the technologies of synthesis and speech recognition, that can help those with difficulty in reading or in writing. Microsoft Seeing AIfor example , it uses artificial intelligence to describe environments, objects, and texts through the camera of your smartphone. The app is now also available for Android after years of exclusive iOS, making this technology accessible to millions of users on multiple.
Break down the Language Barriers
Another crucial is that of language. The automatic translation based on neural models are becoming more accurate. This means breaking down barriers between people of different languages, but also make it accessible educational content, information, cultural to those who otherwise would be excluded.
It is an important step towards a global society that is more equitable.
Education the Custom for All
Also education benefits from these innovations. Tools personalised learning, tutoring automatic, platforms, inclusive: they are all solutions that can help students with different needs to express its potential.
As we said in the article “Bias Algorithmic: IA and Discrimination Invisible“ even the artificial intelligence is more advanced may reflect the inequalities of pre-existing. But with conscious approach, however, can become a tool of inclusion.
The Case with Microsoft's AI for Accessibility
Microsoft, through the program, “AI for Accessibility”, has for many years supported the development of technologies, inclusive. The initiative provides funding to projects that range from cognitive support to the accessibility of the auditory and visual, promoting the use ethics human and artificial intelligence.
The program has already supported more than 450 projects around the world, demonstrating that technological innovation can truly be at the service of the inclusion. The partnership with Be My Eyes represents a concrete example of how AI can dramatically improve the quality of life of people with visual disabilities.
The Revolution Of Legislation: European Accessibility Act
From 28 June 2025, theEuropean Accessibility Act (EAA) will radically change the landscape of the accessibility and digital in Europe. The directive requires companies to ensure that products and digital services are accessible to people with disabilities.
This means that millions web sites, apps, and digital services will have to comply with accessibility standards, opening up new opportunities for the integration of AI in the accessibility. As pointed out by the Fondazione ASPHI, “to design an Artificial Intelligence that is Accessible, Equitable and Inclusive growth is necessary to start from the following three pillars: awareness, responsibility and good projects”.
Concrete examples of Success
Be My EyesThis app is revolutionary and has changed the lives of over 500,000 people blind in the world. Born to connect volunteers with people who need visual assistance, Be My Eyes it has integrated the IA with Be My TO, reducing the time of service from 12 to 4 minutes on average, and resolving automatically 90% of the cases.
Seeing TO Microsoft: An app that uses artificial intelligence to describe the surrounding world for people who are blind or have low vision, reading text, recognizing faces and objects.
Google Lookout: Automatically turns the audio into text in real-time, helping people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to follow the conversations and presentations in more than 20 languages.
Voice Dream Writer: A text editor that supports people with dyslexia through the feedback voice, and smart recommendations.
The AI As a Tool of Democratization
The artificial intelligence can democratize access to services and opportunities that would otherwise remain largely the privilege of the few. We think of the legal assistants are based on AI that can provide advice on the basis of those who can not afford a lawyer, or to the systems of medical diagnosis that they bring specialist skills in remote areas.
Risks to Avoid
However, we must remain vigilant about the risks. As discussed in our article on “Surveillance Predictive“ the same technology that includes can also be excluded if it is misused.
It is essential that the inclusive solutions to respect privacy, to maintain human control and is not likely to create new forms of technological dependency.
Towards a Future Inclusive
The IA does not solve alone the problems of the world. But it can amplify the good practices, to support the change, make it more accessible opportunities. Can act as a bridge between those who have more and those who have less.
Provided that, it is designed with a sensitive eye, careful, human.
Digital inclusion is a concrete goal, not a utopia. And every time that artificial intelligence is used to listen to those who have no voice, to ensure the participation of those on the margin: to emphasize differences rather than deleting them, then it becomes what it should be-a tool for everyone.
Key Points
- The AI can break down barriers: Voice technologies, and translation to make the technology accessible to people with different abilities and language backgrounds
- The education you customizeTools : adaptive learning allows each student to learn at their own pace and mode
- It serves as a cultural approach: The inclusion must be designed from the beginning, not added as an afterthought
- The results are already visible: Projects such as AI for Accessibility Microsoft demonstrate the tangible impact of technology inclusive
FAQ – frequently Asked Questions about IA and Digital Inclusion
The AI can really replace the human assistance for people with disabilities? No, the AI replaces human intervention, but the complements. App Be My Eyes show that the best approach combines human volunteers and assistants AI, using artificial intelligence to reduce waiting times (from 12 to 4 minutes), but maintaining the possibility of human assistance when necessary.
What are the main risks of AI for accessibility? The main risks include bias in the dataset for training, which can exclude people with specific disabilities (such as language disorders), and the over-reliance on the technology. As pointed out by the research, many systems of speech recognition does not work well for people with disabilities of language, so that the training data does not include representative samples.
The European Accessibility Act will also apply to small businesses? The micro-enterprises with less than 10 employees are exempt from the obligation, but not from ethical responsibility. For them, a complaint of discrimination can have real consequences according to the Law 67/2006 for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
What technologies IA are already available for inclusion? There are many solutions: Microsoft Seeing AI for visual description, Google Lookout for the daily assistance, Be My Eyes for visual assistance through volunteers and IA systems, speech synthesis, advanced technologies and translation break down the language barriers.
How to ensure that the IA is inclusive, both are actually accessible? It is fundamental to the direct involvement of persons with disabilities in the design and testing of the systems. According to the Fondazione ASPHI, serve as “awareness, responsibility and good projects” with the dataset representative and collaborative design that values the needs and desires of the marginalized communities.