Focusing Policy for Good: Promoting AI for Good for the Disability Community

Emerging technologies and the role of the humanities are at a critical junction; we will host a convening (February 26-28, 2027) focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) for good for the disability community. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive technologies in education and health care are shaping how we imagine our educational and health care systems. While the application of AI as a practical tool or as a barrier to inclusion is hotly debated, there are a few uses of AI that technology optimists and their critics agree are good use cases. One of those use cases is creating tools for disabled persons such as phone applications (apps) that read written text aloud for those with low vision. Our idea is to critically examine the tools that have been created, the possibilities for the future, and the policies and economic incentives that might encourage the creation of AI for good.

We plan to bring together members of the disability community, disability studies scholars, philosophers, engineers, computer scientists, social scientists, and others to consider how we can encourage designers to shape AI tools that will serve the disability community in a convening on February 26-28, 2027. Our goal is to generate a theoretical toolkit that technologists, social scientists, policy makers, activists, and others can use in their work; this will manifest in videos of presentations, a whitepaper with recommendations, and a special issue of an academic journal. Such a project aligns with the mission of USD to “confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice, and leading with love.”