Pushing the limits of what AI can do in accessibility

We are advocates of people with disabilities—committed to influencing the future of technology to ensure global independence and inclusion in society in five areas of focus: Assistive technology, home, community, education, and employment.

Explore accessibility projects
  • Close up of a hand touching a page in braille
  • Young woman dances with a man using a wheelchair

  • Three years of progress at AI for Accessibility

    After three years of Microsoft AI for Accessibility grants, we are excited to share the progress our grantees have made toward creating a more accessible world. Learn about their accomplishments and consider the challenges ahead as we continue to ensure independence and inclusion for all people.

    Learn about our commitment

  • Improving inclusive mental healthcare for Black communities

    How can we create more equitable outcomes in mental health and AI? Experts across disciplines are collaborating to better understand the challenges of AI-powered mental health technologies. Learn how we can address societal bias in mental health applications, data sets, and AI systems.

    Read the mental health report Read Dr. Upton Patton’s blog
  • Two women spending time enjoying coffee at the cafe and using sign language as a way of communication
  • Screenshots of various “wake up” signs produced by participants during the study conducted remotely by researchers from the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

  • The FATE landscape of sign language AI datasets

    Sign language datasets are essential to training AI and machine learning to empower assistive language tools. As the technology that powers training AI becomes more widely available and easy to use, we have an important opportunity to be thoughtful about Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics (FATE) considerations.

    Read about FATE and sign language datasets

  • How can AI drive accessibility of personal assistive devices

    As voice-based personal assistant technologies proliferate, e.g., smart speakers in homes, and more generally as voice-control of technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, new accessibility barriers are emerging for many Deaf and Hard of Hearing users – a new body of research from Rochester Institute of Technology is aimed to improve accessibility.

    Read about RIT’s research and dataset

Accessibility resources

Check out some of the latest inclusive developments and accessibility tools used to empower people.