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Artificial intelligence (AI) is great at creating content, surprise, and controversy. Some see the next wave of innovation coming, threatening livelihoods and creating portals to original academic products and shortcuts to creative output, not to mention further erosion of individual and group privacy. Some consider it an alternative technology that opens the door.
However, scientific advances such as AI have promoted inclusivity and diversity for some groups. For people with disabilities, some technological innovations have been a boon, creating opportunities for them to seamlessly enter and remain in the workforce. One leader in the disability community has given these products some praise, even as they provoke skepticism and mistrust. Kendra Davenport, president and CEO of Easterseals, is adamant that while society needs to be cautious about large-scale acceptance and adoption, technology can be beneficial to many in her community. In her conversation, she explained her thoughts on how technology is helping to level the playing field for people with disabilities. Specifically, people who have difficulty commuting or traveling are finding help in adapting to working from home post-COVID-19.
A more equal playing field would be a breath of fresh air. Adding to the hurdles faced by people with disabilities is the reality that certain racial and ethnic groups, such as Native Americans and Alaska Natives, are more likely to report having a disability. And as the group most affected by disabilities, the elderly, expands, it is also the group that believes they need to move beyond their golden years. Those who plead with older people to work until age 70 are often reluctant to hire people after 50, arguing that it's too expensive, that they can't adapt to new technology, that they have set ways of doing things, etc. has been expressed.
But as birth rates continue to decline in the United States and other developed countries around the world, especially in Western Europe, concerns about a shrinking labor pool are growing. This article does not go into immigration issues. The future may address labor shortages, particularly in the service and elderly care sectors, but the reality of increased immigration is fueling xenophobic and nationalist sentiment, making it a hot topic in a presidential election year. It has become a point of contention. Suffice to say, there will be no new legislation in the United States by 2025.
When we think about technology, the issue of trust also comes to mind. Can underserved groups rely on the manufacturers of these technologies to consider race, disability, and the nature of the work when formulating these technologies? We've seen some terrible work being done around facial recognition and race, but a key reason for the recent writers' and performers' strike was fear about AI replacing creatives.
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James Lamond, another leader in the nonprofit world, said opportunities await thanks to technology. However, he acknowledged that many communities are hesitant about trusting that their data and privacy will be protected. From communities of color to the elderly, these communities need trust in order to adopt.
Davenport focuses on building trust. Raised in a military family and after more than 30 years in non-profit work, she came to Easter Seals in 2022. She is a mother of two and believes that all the barriers people with disabilities face can be replaced by technology. It is not naive to think that it will be overcome. All tools such as Zoom, while certainly solving many communication problems through voice commands, voice text messages, etc., have technology that comes at a prohibitive cost.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2021, there were approximately 42.5 million people with disabilities in the United States, although advocates like Davenport put the number closer to 61 million. have problems with vision, hearing, cognitive function, and walking ability. And the difficulty of self-care. And as the overall population ages more and more, people will find themselves in that group.
We haven't universalized accessibility enough. Specifically, 61 million Americans identify as having a disability, 1.5 billion people around the world identify as having a disability, and that number will continue to grow, meaning that by age 68, everyone will have some form of disability. This is especially true if the person is predicted to become disabled. A kind of disorder.
In conjunction with increased awareness, we need a policy push to enact legislation that goes beyond the fundamentals of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990. As Davenport explained, without important updates, we are at risk of leaving many people behind.