Help employees with disabilities communicate and collaborate

conversation bubble

Employees who are deaf or who have hearing or speech disabilities and their co-workers can use AI tools to translate and transcribe their communications in virtual meetings and other workplace discussions. Such tools can help ensure all employees can participate and contribute.

Organizations should consider Equitable AI Principles when procuring and implementing such AI communication tools. Questions to ask include:

  • Has the tool been designed to support multiple communication modes (e.g. visual, audible speech, text) and to support translation between languages including sign language?
  • Does the tool facilitate both synchronous (e.g., live discussions in meetings, etc.) as well as asynchronous communication (e.g., creating transcripts or action items/notes from meetings, etc.)?
  • Has the tool been trained to support diverse speech patterns, including for individuals whose speech has been affected by their disability?

Promote inclusive and non-ableist language

All employees could use AI augmented writing tools to help make their written communications, presentations, training, formal documentation and job descriptions more inclusive. Specifically, AI augmented writing tools could help remove ableist language.  Such tools might search for verbs to determine if they privilege one ability over another, search for nouns that are related to parts of the body or cognitive traits that may be too restrictive when considering employees with disabilities.

Organizations should consider Equitable AI Principles when procuring and implementing such AI augmented writing tools. Questions to ask include:

  • Has the tool been designed to search for ableist language including consideration of all physical, sensory, cognitive and learning disabilities?
  • Does the tool only flag potentially ableist language or also offer suggestions?
  • Does the tool collect input from users such that it can improve its lexicon or accuracy over time?
  • Does the tool offer a way to moderate any suggested inputs from users?
Continue to Accommodations and Assistive Technology Examples