Day One: Welcome to Sight Tech Global

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KARAE LISLE: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Sight Tech Global 2025. My name is Karae Lisle, and I’m honored to host our global online audience today as the CEO of Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and as the producer of this extraordinary conference. It’s incredible to have so many dedicated minds come together at this conference with a shared purpose of ensuring technology is a force for inclusion. Before we dive in, I’d like to introduce Vista Center, a nonprofit serving the blind and low-vision community with members ranging from age three to 103 years old. Our trained staff provides programs and services in mobility and travel, daily living, assistive technology, and therapeutic support, all designed to empower people living with vision loss to live independently and thrive in their communities.

Our board, donors, and volunteers are united in advancing accessibility, not just through the innovations we showcase, but in the values we prioritize. And that’s why we make this event free to all attendees, because we believe that everyone should have access to Sight Tech Global’s thought leadership, regardless of their socioeconomic means or where they live in the world. Sight Tech Global is a two-day conference where leading technologists, designers, advocates, and innovators come together to reaffirm our belief that universal design doesn’t just improve products, it elevates lives. Accessibility innovation isn’t just a technological shift, it’s a societal one. It’s a call for equity and a commitment to creating a digital world that everyone can access and engage with equal footing. So today, day one, you’ll hear from the leaders shaping the next wave of accessibility innovation. We’ll open with our keynote, two accessibility leaders discussing the promise of AI and its life-changing potential. Then a deep dive into Salesforce’s leadership in building accessibility at scale. We’ll bring a forward-looking conversation on visual interpretation with Aira and Google DeepMind. And with Waymo, we’ll explore the future of safe and inclusive driverless transportation.

The Blind Institute of Technology will share their notable apprenticeship program, Driving Technology Careers. And of course, we’ll introduce some new and exciting technologies that are driving breakthroughs across the accessibility landscape. Across all of our sessions today, one theme connects every discussion. Technology is at its best when it serves everyone with equal access and functionality. At Vista Center, we see every day how access to information, to mobility, to opportunity can transform a life. Sight Tech Global convenes annually because we believe that the future will be defined by the choices we make right now. Will we continue to build technologies that include everyone? Will we design with empathy, curiosity, and accountability? Will we choose a world where independence is not limited by sight? I believe the answer continues to be yes, and that every person watching today carries part of that vision forward.

So whether you’re joining us from one of the 70 countries represented today as a technologist, a researcher, policymaker, advocate, or someone personally touched by the power of accessible technology, you are part of this important movement. We encourage you to engage with us throughout the day. Join the conversation in Slido Chat, share your thoughts, and connect with the global community.

So let’s get started with the conference.

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