Although we’re only halfway through the year, it’s already been a whirlwind of technological advances and unwelcome change, like the continued hype around artificial intelligence and the ups and downs of the social media giants.
In the same way, 2023 has brought great successes and unfortunate failures in the push for greater digital accessibility and better assistive technology. This is a clash of creativity and profit, as well as a larger cultural conversation about the need for more support and visibility for the disability community.
Still, some of the wins of 2023 are making a big difference in people’s lives, like making online experiences more customizable and making live entertainment more accessible. These victories also show that sometimes a small change is all it takes to make a digital environment that much more accessible.
GIPHY add alt text
In 2023, the popular GIF platform GIPHY partnered with digital accessibility company Scribely to add alt text captions to their most popular content. This made the language of internet videos and memes easier for blind people to understand.
When @GIPHY contacted us to write alt text for over 10,000 of the most frequently shared GIFs on their platform, we knew it would be a big step toward democratizing our digital content. Click here to read the case study: https://t.co/oLlh8BnWHs pic.twitter.com/bNZupAQl4h
—Scribely (@scribelytribe) May 23, 2023
The new alt text was announced in late December 2022. It was written by humans on purpose to avoid the issues many other sites have had with auto-generated alt text and to make it easier for screen readers to accurately describe visual media. and reading. web pages or social feeds for users. Starting with 15 writers working on the first 1,000 GIFs, the Scribely team began posting about 3,500 descriptions a week to make a dent in “the ever-expanding GIF ocean,” according to an abstract of a presentation for the Access 2023 accessibility conference. .
“GIFs are a big part of our everyday lives because they can convey ideas, feelings, and humor in a way that static images can’t. These movies that are played over and over again transport us to happy times. But without alt text, the momentum is lost and millions of people are left behind,” said Caroline Desrosiers, founder and CEO of Scribely. “This project with GIPHY is so big and important because of this.”
Netflix launches custom subtitles
Netflix stepped up its subtitles and subtitles game by adding customizable options to its accessibility text tool. This was a win for people who want universal subtitles. The streaming service announced in March that users can now change the font size and style, as well as the color and appearance of on-screen subtitles. According to The Verge, captions have three new text style options with backgrounds that make text stand out: Light (black text on a white background), Drop Shadow (white text on a black background), and Contrast (yellow text on a white background). ). black background).
Changeable text, not just expandable text, is considered an important part of making the web accessible (opens in a new tab), because it allows all users to change websites to be adjust to your needs.
Expanded gameplay for users with disabilities comes to games
Sony announced at the annual technology convention CES that it was developing a new adaptive game controller for the PlayStation 5 under the code name Project Leonardo. For gamers with limited motor control, the controller allows for customization of its use and design features, as well as the connection of third-party accessibility accessories.
The company also announced in April that it would make the PlayStation experience more accessible to users with disabilities by adding clear accessibility labels (opens in a new tab) to all of its titles. The labels include pertinent information about the visual, auditory, control, and gameplay characteristics of each game.
In May, Xbox announced new features for the Xbox app on PC, including the ability to reduce on-screen visuals, and introduced a new tagging and search feature to help users find accessible titles.
Other popular video games, such as Street Fighter 6(opens in a new tab) and the recently adapted The Last of Us Part 1, have released expanded accessibility settings(opens in a new tab) for all users, as part of a larger industry wide shift(opens in a new tab) incorporating universal design in the early stages of a game’s development.
Live entertainment and sports get accessibility updates
Additionally, there has been a significant push to improve accessibility in live programming, such as award shows and sporting events.
This year, the 2023 Academy Awards featured American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters on the red carpet for deaf attendees, live captioning and audio description for video broadcasts, and a live ASL stream available at the The show’s YouTube channel. The awards ceremony also unveiled a new accessibility guide for journalists covering the event.
In addition to featuring performers on the red carpet in 2023, the Grammy Awards introduced live audio description, assistive listening devices and sensory bags for attendees, as well as a newly accessible stage.
And the world of sports expanded its accessibility efforts with the addition of live ASL interpreters for the annual NFL Super Bowl halftime and AI-generated live captions for broadcasts of ESPN and other Disney-owned live programming. .
GPT-4 makes its accessibility offer
With the release of GPT-4, the most advanced AI chatbot offered by parent company OpenAI, AI, the hottest topic of the year, expanded its presence in the world of accessibility. GPT-4 made its technology available to third-party companies, paving the way for new cross-industry collaborations, such as those that expand digital accessibility.
Be My Eyes, a visual assistance app for users who are blind or have low vision, represented their biggest effort. The app has launched a new GPT-4-based Virtual Volunteer, an AI-powered conversation assistant that can help with text and visual recognition, in-app search, alt text for images, route navigation, and more.
GPT-4 was also used by other accessibility technology companies for devices such as the Envision smart glasses, a device that allows users to understand and translate any text. The latest version of the device included a GPT-4 powered virtual assistant called “Ask Envision” (opens in a new tab) that allows users to ask questions and interact with on-screen text.
Apple expands its accessibility domain even further
In May, for World Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple announced a wide range of new accessibility tools to add to the many it already had.
The new tools will be available by the end of the year. They include better updates to voice control, customization options for Siri and mobile on-screen elements, and a new recognition feature that lets users point to things on the camera and hear what they’re called. Apple’s best new feature is a creative mode called “Access Support.” When this mode is enabled, it simplifies a user’s phone and any related apps to make it easier for people with cognitive disabilities to use.
The tech giant added two new voice features: Live Speech and Personal Voice. Live Speech allows users to type to speak directly on their home screens and during FaceTime and phone calls. Personal Voice is a digital version of the user’s voice that is stored locally and is intended to help people who are at risk of losing their speech or who have speech disabilities.
Apple announced at its WWDC conference in June that the new features will be coming out at the same time as iOS17. At the meeting, the company also showed off a new mode for Apple AirPods called “Adaptive Audio.” The update allows AirPods to automatically change a user’s audio settings based on what’s going on around them. This could mean more audio updates are on the way, as Apple recently gave deaf and hard-of-hearing users the option to pair and personalize Made for iPhone hearing devices directly with Mac.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn