Jenny Lay-Flurrie is the Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft.
When I spoke with Microsoft’s chief accessibility officer, Jenny Ray Fleury, last year about the company’s Ability Summit, she explained that the event has come a long way over the years. What started as an internal initiative in 2010 with 20 people gathered in a room has now grown to tens of thousands of people. In fact, last year’s event was headlined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association for People with Disabilities.
“I used to think it was magic, because the level of conversation that people have, [about accessibility] It was just beautiful,” Fleury said of Ability Summit’s humble origins.
Flurrie and I reconnected via video conference earlier this week to discuss this year’s Microsoft’s Ability Summit, which takes place today. His one-day virtual event, now in its 14th year, is “always a humbling journey” for Flurrie and his team. She said her summit goals are reassessed every year, but her main driver is to maintain momentum regarding accessibility and the disability community, which she described as “the fundamentals and foundations of mobility.” He emphasized that. I have interviewed Fleury many times over the years. One of her favorite phrases is narrowing what she calls the “disability gap.” Her Summit ability is just one of her ways to do that.
As a disabled person, disability inclusion resonates deeply with Fleury.
“[Ability Summit] It started as a way to bring people together to have conversations about lived experiences. [and] the challenges they faced [around accessibility]” Fleury said. “Obviously, we work in technology companies, so the question is, ‘How can we rely on technology to accelerate that journey?'” That’s exactly what Ability Summit is all about. is.I think it’s important to have the right conversations so we can continue to accelerate and get to know the lived experiences of people with disabilities. [that are] Because it’s core and foundational, you really need to bring together people with expertise, lived experience, and understanding so that they can work together. A lot of it is honest conversation. ”
Institutionally speaking, Fleury said the Ability Summit speaks volumes about Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility. She emphasized that accessibility has been and continues to be “a core focus of ours.” She added that she is very grateful to be in a place where accessibility is such a priority, but she also said it is humbling and keenly aware of the work that is still being done in this area. . As for the Ability Summit itself, Fleury describes it as a “catalyst, accelerator, [and] He said it was important to build momentum from the event because disability inequality remains “very real”.
Our conversation with Flurrie coincided with the publication of a blog post she wrote about this year’s summit. In it, she states that this year’s event has her three key themes: “Build,” “Imagine,” and “Include.” Fleury also discusses how best to improve accessibility through technology and how accessibility is a fundamental human right. Guests at this year’s Ability Summit include Sarah Minkara, Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, and Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer for the Government of Canada.
As you might expect, the hot topic at Ability Summit is AI. Fleury said artificial intelligence has great potential as an assistive technology, and there are three key principles engineers should keep in mind to make AI as accessible as possible. AI comes in many forms, she said. It’s more than just typing in a chatbot. Therefore, AI implementations must be made accessible through any medium. Similarly, data fed to AI systems must not propagate harmful metaphors, including, for example, ableism. Flurrie pointed out that companies need to be proactive and push the envelope, innovate and responsibly implement ways to leverage AI in different ways. Creating ethical, safe, and responsible AI also means making AI accessible to everyone. In her own usage, Flurrie noted that Copilot allows her to take advantage of Windows’ accessibility features quickly and efficiently. Additionally, she says that her colleague Dave Dame, her senior director of product accessibility at Microsoft, has cerebral palsy and uses her Copilot to create more accessible emails. I also mentioned that there are. In Fleury’s eyes, AI’s ability to automate tasks (and encourage people’s autonomy) has the potential to have a huge impact. However, Flurrie said there is still some way to go before such a reality becomes a reality, but she cautioned that early signs are encouraging, including with services like Be My Eyes and similar services. . Flurrie is committed to pursuing this because Microsoft “believes it has the potential to have a really positive impact,” she said.
For Flurrie, the future of AI must be treated with great care.
“Broadly speaking, across the industry [and] “Over the decades, many promises have been made, with technology emerging that has helped and hindered us over the years,” she said. “I think we’re trying to be very down-to-earth in our approach.” [and be] I’m being thoughtful and methodical about it and pushing forward with things where I feel there’s a real opportunity, but I also feel a real responsibility. ”
When asked what she would like to see from this year’s Ability Summit, Fleury reiterated her belief that disparities for people with disabilities remain stark and said that people with disabilities continue to face inequalities on a daily basis. It is her hope that the Ability Summit will encourage people to have tougher conversations about accessibility and accelerate work that is not yet being done at a societal level. Technically speaking, Flurrie wants people to try new things like generative AI and see how it can enhance the accessibility of tools. Additionally, she would like to see more companies include chief accessibility officers like her in their C-suite ranks.
“This is a catalyst,” Fleury said. “I’m looking forward to seeing things accelerate.”