As we speak, we kick off the 13th annual Microsoft Potential Summit, a day devoted to the conversations that may advance the way forward for accessibility and incapacity inclusion. This yr, Microsoft senior leaders together with CEO Satya Nadella, and coverage leaders corresponding to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, will be a part of us on the summit, together with 20,000 attendees from 100 nations and the assistance of over 70 presenters, to think about and start the subsequent steps in direction of the way forward for accessible inclusion. And there’s loads to speak about this yr!
What’s new at this yr’s summit?
Let’s begin with know-how. Accessibility at Microsoft spans each side of our product portfolio from software program to {hardware} and companies like AI and is a part of our firm tradition. This yr, we’ve a variety of latest and thrilling accessible applied sciences to speak about, together with:
- New adaptive equipment: As we speak, we’re saying we’re extending the customizable 3D printed attachments at the moment out there for the Microsoft Enterprise Pen and Microsoft Classroom Pen 2 to our current Floor Pen later this yr. The 3D-printed grips are printed via Shapeways and provide new methods for customers with restricted mobility to grip and use the pens and assist their creativity and productiveness on their Floor gadgets.
- ‘Accessibility Assistant’ in M365: As simple as checking spelling and grammar, at present we’re saying new Microsoft 365 “Accessibility Assistant” to assist creators produce extra accessible content material. These assistants provide higher defaults, real-time remediation and clear steerage to forestall and proper accessibility points. With the current addition of accessibility checker in Visible Studio, creating inclusively is now simpler for each creators and builders.
- Microsoft Translator: New languages! Microsoft Translator has at present launched 13 new African languages, together with Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. Microsoft Translator now helps speech-to-text capabilities in 125 languages and lets customers have real-time multi-language conversations, translate menus and avenue indicators, web sites, paperwork and extra, making know-how extra inclusive for many who are deaf or arduous of listening to world wide.
- New Inclusive Design for Cognition Guidebook: Launched a brand new Inclusive Design for Cognition Guidebook to assist construct merchandise for individuals with numerous cognitive skills.
- Azure developments: Two bulletins leveraging the Azure platform:
- Seeing AI: Microsoft’s Seeing AI app makes use of the ability of Azure and AI to empower blind and low imaginative and prescient to navigate the world round them. We launched a brand new Seeing AI collaboration with Haleon and added over 1500 merchandise to the Seeing AI code library. As well as, Seeing AI launched a brand new Indoor Navigation characteristic, permitting somebody who’s blind or has low imaginative and prescient to independently navigate via a constructing by following spatial audio cues.
- LinkedIn: As we speak, greater than 40% of LinkedIn posts embody no less than one picture. LinkedIn is including automated alt-text descriptions and captioning to their platform leveraging Azure Cognitive Providers for imaginative and prescient.
- Home windows 11: We just lately shared enhancements to Home windows 11‘s built-in display screen reader, Narrator, to assist extra Braille shows, together with three new Floor shows from HumanWare. Narrator can now work together seamlessly with accessible equipment and the voice entry performance is out of preview, enabling speech navigation entry with Microsoft apps all through Home windows 11.
Accessibility and AI
AI has been a giant matter this yr as we discover ourselves at a historic intersection of alternative and accountability to the world round us. AI has the potential to reinforce human cognitive skills in considering, reasoning, studying and communication, however the evolution of AI additionally comes with nice accountability and should incorporate and handle a broad vary of numerous human wants, boundaries, capabilities and experiences.
Microsoft is specializing in Accountable AI, with core ideas of improvement particularly centered on accessibility and incapacity inclusion – construct accessibly, embody incapacity consultant information and innovate. These ideas and Accountable AI work in live performance to speed up accessibility.
Growing consultant information can also be essential to this course of. Final yr, Microsoft introduced the Speech Accessibility Undertaking, a cross-industry partnership with the College of Illinois, Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft to create the varied speech information wanted to make voice recognition know-how extra inclusive and helpful for individuals with a variety of numerous speech patterns.
At Potential Summit, we will likely be speaking concerning the prospects with the new AI-powered Microsoft Bing. From planning an accessible journey to creating writing accessible code simpler, we’re simply initially of the chances of what AI can provide and we’re listening and studying as we transfer ahead. Please share your experiences as you play!
Microsoft’s dedication to accessibility
Accessible know-how is a basic constructing block that may unlock alternatives in each a part of society and empower individuals throughout the spectrum of incapacity. But it surely’s not nearly know-how. We’re dedicated to tackling the incapacity divide and studying via our know-how led technique with three further pillars, Individuals, Partnership and Coverage.
On the summit, we’ll discover every of those pillars together with outcomes of our accessibility partnerships with Shell and Haleon, how we will progress inclusive hiring and our work with Mentra, and the way forward for transportation coverage in america with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Brad Smith. These are only a few examples of how, by working collectively throughout these pillars, we will improve consciousness and utilization of accessible know-how, increase skilling and hiring alternatives, and advocate for insurance policies that advance accessibility as a basic proper.
I look ahead to the vital conversations we’ll have at this yr’s summit and hope all of you’ll be a part of us. Maintain your concepts and suggestions coming, and if you happen to want any technical assist, keep in mind that Incapacity Reply Desk is right here to assist you.
