Though it may seem a long time ago to some, we looked at a lot of the advantages of the newly emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capacity that we can

access today. We also looked ahead at developments that we believed were inevitable and, potentially, beneficial. We certainly talked about some of the pitfalls that the new technology might involve but, at the end of our first show, we decided it would be good to spend a whole show on the down side of the future both for our society as a whole and for people who are blind in particular. Will the new technology affect jobs? Will an absolutely smaller number of jobs be available? How will this affect income distribution? Will the underclass that many see as existing now continue to grow? Should we be worried about computers taking over the world? When all is said and done, how should we feel about the future?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

During our program of January 3, Brian talked about a new app he has been looking at that allows him to make some requests that go a good deal beyond just

asking for information. A little while ago my daughter indicated that her new electric car had asked her whether she wanted it to park itself. In considering how life is likely to change this year, Brian indicated that artificial intelligence would, in his opinion, revolutionize our lives very soon. He sees this as a very positive development. I am not so sure. I thought it might be fun to do a first show on this subject that would aim at setting out the parameters of the intersection of artificial intelligence and the lives of people who are blind. At the same time that we are talking about the emergence of a i, we can also explore augmented reality. The latest version of Apple head phones offer some elements that would not have been considered ordinary even a year ago. Virtual reality is already revolutionizing gaming and sound. I recently saw my first movie in 3d, the new avatar movie. Those with whom I saw it suggested that the effects were considerably more impressive than earlier 3d efforts. What are the advantages of the new artificial intelligence options? What do they suggest for the future? Are there concerns that we need to at least consider? What are the specific concerns of this new frontier for people who are blind or have low vision? Are we in danger of being left behind? Might we be in danger of being fooled by people who can use the voices of friends and carry on conversations with us? Can the new a i be a tool that can significantly expand our ability to get the information we really want tailored to us as people who are blind? There are a i programs that can emulate people who have died so that we can use conversation with them as a part of the grieving process? Is this a good thing? We need some of you who have played with this technology to be a part of this show. Join us and share your experiences! None of us are experts in this field but we thought it might be good for a group of ordinary blind people to explore the new frontier of artificial intelligence to see what it holds for folks who are blind. Should we as ACB be doing anything about this brave new world? Can our input guide those who are developing new applications so that they can optimize their usefulness to us as people who are blind?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Over the past few years Tuesday Topics generally uses our first meeting of the year to look ahead. What can we expect from 2023? Are there things we expect

in our world this year? Are there ACB issues? What about expectations about new books or new music or new movies? What can we expect from ACB or, perhaps, what should we expect? Are there things state affiliates and local chapters should think about? I don't think that we will end up using our whole two hours gazing into our crystal ball. Tell us about your new year's resolutions! Have you done anything that makes it more likely that you will keep them? Can you share suggestions about how we can maximize success with resolutions? I guess we can ask whether resolutions make sense since eighty percent of them cease to be operative by February according to statistics.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

It is something of a conundrum to try to predict how topics will be regarded by our listeners and participants. Topics we at Tuesday Topics think will

be popular do not attract much attention. Topics we are not confident about attract lots of people. Efforts to encourage our participants to come up with topics have, for the most part, been unsuccessful. And then there are other factors that impact how successful Tuesday Topics is likely to be. People will persist in celebrating Christmas and other holidays! ACB Media, committees and other groups have suddenly discovered that Tuesday is a very cool day to hold programs. For all these reasons, it is hard to predict what will turn out to be effective programming. We are going to try two topics this Tuesday and we need to turn up so that the production team doesn't have to talk among ourselves only! The first topic we want to discuss has to do with Christmas. We are pretty open about where this topic goes! Is giving better than receiving? Is there a particular present you are excited about? Are there Christmas traditions that you would like to share with us? Is Christmas a waste of money, time and effort? Does what we celebrate get lost with all the socializing? Our second topic concerns Christmas as well but is especially aimed to explore the experience of yule tide by people who are blind! How did you shop? Do you need help with Christmas more now or less than you did a few years ago? Are there some new gadgets, games or devices that you have heard about this year you would like to tell us about? ACB Radio will be providing some holiday programming. We hope to be able to tell you some about what is coming up and how you can participate!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

We typically, at the end of each year, look back at the last twelve months and explore what conclusions, if any, we can draw about the nature of 2022.

What kind of developments have there been in the field of blindness. Can we point to new elements of cooperation? Are there tangible things we can look at that have changed? What about technology? Should we care about Mastodon? We have seen a few new devices emerge. Braille keyboards, new Gps device, the promise of a new, old device and more! We don't only operate as people who are blind. We live in a world that has seen a huge, new war begin! Two hurricanes hit this country! What other trends can we point at? Has this been a good year, a bad year, a scary year? And then, of course, there is ACB. What has this year been like for our organization. Hybrid convention, voting for everyone possible, new resolutions, a changing Constitution. New staff arriving, old staff leaving! New initiatives and old issues! And, finally, our listeners, what has this year been like for you? Do you have celebrations you want to share? Are there issues that have gotten in your way this year? We need you to be there to provide the feedback we need to assess the world that soon will be over!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

I hope that everyone was able to attend the Gala on Tuesday. Now Topics is back and we are once again seeking your help to explore how blind people and

folks with partial vision do with holidays. When you go home, how are you treated? How do siblings feel about having a blind relative? Is it easy to help when you go home? How are things when you host Thanksgiving or Christmas events? What can we do to make things better? What techniques have you used? Our second issue is related to the first. Giving is certainly better than receiving, right? How do people feel about blind people giving? How are we seen when we offer assistance when the consensus is that blind people don't give, they take! How can we change this notion or should we want to change it!

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

One of the most important issues facing members of the American Council of the Blind is employment. The ACB has an "Employment Committee" which is concerned with working to consider and develop policies and programs that will increase the likelihood of assuring that people who are blind or have low vision can finds jobs and careers.

We will have members of the Employment Committee as our guests on Tuesday Topics. They will tell us what they are doing and listen to what members of the American Council of the Blind suggest as other approaches that can encourage  job seekers.

Who are members of the Employment Committee? What have they been doing over the past year? What are their plans for this year?

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

Last year the American Council of the Blind with the leadership of its Audio Description Project (ADP) held the first annual Audio Description Gala. Now we are approaching the date of the second annual Gala. It's bigger and better this year! What is it? Who's involved? How can you participate? Join us on November 15 at 7 PM Eastern time on ACB Media One to find out the answers to all these questions and many more. What is the Audio Description Project? What else do they do? What are their priorities for this year? What are the "project's" recent accomplishments?

Both co-chairs of our Audio Description Project will join us. Kim Charlson is our immediate past President of ACB and will tell us about work that is being done to start the process of codifying standards for audio description. Carl Richardson knows more about old movies than I ever dreamed of knowing and can speak to issues that operate for folks with hearing loss as well as people who are blind. We will leave time for questions about the gala and the Project as well.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

What is the impact of advertising on people who are blind?

How has the inclusion of a few blind people in ads changed things? How do people with some vision fare in ads. During this hour we will explore just how much we are viewed as consumers or objects of political correctness. During the second hour we will consider mentoring. One of the more exciting new projects unveiled during our convention this summer in Omaha Nebraska was the Mentoring, Access and Peer Support Program (MAPSP). This program created partnerships between "guides" and "explorers". In more traditional programs these folks might have been known as mentors and mentees. Initially, the first iteration of this exciting program was to last a year. During that time, a support team would oversee how the program works and perhaps make decisions about how things should change during what it is hoped will be a second iteration next year. Full disclosure means I should tell all of you that two of us on Tuesday Topics are Guides. We will have some of the members of the team on Tuesday Topics and perhaps some guides and explorers as well. We will explore how the program is going and give you, our listeners, an opportunity to raise questions about how the program works. I am sure that Kenneth Semien Sr. will be there and suspect that Cheryl Cumings, Donna Brown and Donna Browning will also be there! So far the program is only a couple of months old. How was it set up? What are its goals? What do participants think? How does the leadership team feel? Explore with us a new and promising program while it is being implemented.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co

How do folks who are blind or have low vision remember Halloween? Did we trick or treat as kids? Did we

take our kids trick or treating? Do we decorate our house and give out candy? Do we prefer Halloween parties held at schools or clubs? In general, we would like a snapshot of how Halloween happens for our folks! Tell us about your memories of Halloweens past and what you like or do not like about this holiday. This version of Tuesday Topics ends rather abruptly due to some technical issues at about 62 minutes. The full version of Tuesday Topics will return with the next podcast.

Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co