S1E159 - 20240416 - Tuesday Topics - Do Visual Interpreting Services make us More Dependent.

In many respects, we are the most fortunate generation ever. We have access to more information than we can possibly use and we are at the beginning of a revolution that will make the data we can acquire now seem infinitely tiny and paltry. Before you turn away in disgust, this is not another exploration of AI though we are more than a year since we last spent time on it and lots has changed. It is an exploration of the impact of another phenomenon on the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Be My Eyes, Envision and AIRA are all programs that fill an important niche in our lives. They allow us to get information either from other humans or from artificial intelligence entities or, from a combination of the two. What has their impact been on the world of people who are blind? Have these devices mad people who use them more independent or more dependent? Have they encouraged experimentation or created reliance on people for help that has limited technological exploration? In the case of AIRA, how does their business model appear to be structured? Can they afford to pay their employees over time? Does their model depend on selling AIRA to governments, retailers and others? Is there another model that would work better? What would we lose if Aira were to go away?

Obviously these questions constitute no more than the tip of the iceberg. Join us as we put personal assistance software and people under the microscope of Tuesday Topics!

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