Archives: Sessions

People who rely on nonprofit services deserve the same high-quality technology that commercial customers expect and receive, yet many nonprofits “make do” with outdated tools because traditional funding models leave little room for meaningful technology investment. Join Jim Fruchterman, author of Technology for Good, in conversation with Larry Goldberg for an essential discussion on building sustainable, scalable tech solutions for underserved communities, revealing what works—and what doesn’t—based on decades of experience. Hear practical strategies for creating technology that truly serves the communities who need it most.

What happens when start-ups bake accessibility into their initial designs from day one? In this session, two forward-thinking founders demonstrate that universal design is not just the right thing to do—it’s a powerful innovation strategy that sets companies apart. Hear from Vista PitchAbility contestants ViddyScribe and CleverFi as they share their experiences launching companies with accessibility as a core principle, showing how designing products intentionally for people who are blind or have low vision from the start creates solutions that scale naturally to broader audiences. Discover how today’s startups are turning inclusion into a competitive advantage, proving that when inclusion drives innovation from day one, everyone wins.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world faster than any technology in decades, but without intentional design, it risks deepening the access divide for blind and low-vision users. AIMAC (AI & Machine Learning Accessibility Community) has launched an evaluation framework creating shared standards, best practices, and accountability tools that ensure AI systems work for everyone. This session explores how AIMAC enables developers to evaluate how effectively large language models generate accessible code through an open-source benchmark, with the Accessibility Leader Board at aimac.ai publicly displaying comparative scores of different LLMs based on how accessible their generated HTML outputs are.

Join us for an illuminating fireside chat with Waymo, the autonomous driving technology company on a mission to become the world’s most trusted driver. Engineers take us under the hood to explore how the Waymo Driver sees, understands, and navigates the world in real time, creating a mobility future that’s not just autonomous—but deeply human-centered through AI-powered perception and inclusive design. Whether you’re curious about autonomous vehicles or passionate about accessibility in transportation, this conversation offers fresh insight into the technology shaping the road ahead for everyone.

Aira’s collaboration with Google DeepMind brings Astra, an advanced multimodal AI, into the hands of blind and low-vision users through the Aira Explorer app, pairing AI’s instant scene analysis with trained human interpreters to deliver trustworthy, real-time visual assistance. Aira employees and Google DeepMind/Project Astra team members share the story behind the partnership and how this technology advances AI-driven visual interpretation, environmental awareness, and context understanding—all tailored with input from Aira users and interpreters for safety and accuracy.

Join us for an intimate conversation with Dr. Josh Miele, moderated by Ned Desmond, exploring how a determined, scientifically curious blind child became one of the world’s leading accessibility innovators. From roller skating by echolocation on Brooklyn sidewalks to inventing TMAP (tactile mapping technology) and YouDescribe (crowdsourced audio description), Josh’s journey reveals how early experiences shaped groundbreaking inventions that enhance independence for blind and visually impaired people worldwide. Hear about the Center for Accessibility and Open Source (CAOS) and his vision for the next decade of assistive technology.