Blind people's use of AI technology (BlindTech)

The technological and digital development have led to a number of new AI products on the market. These have great potential for people with disabilities, because they rely more on (technological) aids than the general population. Especially the development of computer vision and natural language processing (NLP) are two areas of AI that are very promising for people with visual impairment and blindness. Therefore, BlindTech examines how people with visual impairment actually use AI in everyday practice such as smartphones with AI-based apps and smart speaker systems such as Google Home Assistant. This research is based on detailed video ethnographic methods closely following and studying blind and visually impaired people in their everyday lives using these technologies. There are about 65,000 blind and visually impaired people in Denmark. Their disability makes it more difficult for them to participate in social activities because they have difficulty coming from A-B and have a harder time engaging in social interaction, partly because they cannot see all the nonverbal communication signals. Based on the empirical studies of lead users, the aim is to build a model for how the technologies can best be used. A model to be used by vision professionals in their counseling of the blind and visually impaired.