AI helping differently-abled to become more independent: Microsoft

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SME Times News Bureau | 16 Feb, 2019
Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions are empowering differently-abled people with tools that support independence and productivity, a top Microsoft executive said here on Friday.

The software giant last year launched its five-year, $25 million "AI for Accessibility" programme that harnesses the power of AI to amplify human capability for the more than one billion people around the world with a disability.

"At Microsoft, we believe there are no limits to what people can achieve when technology reflects the diversity of everyone who uses it," Sriram Rajamani, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India, said on the inaugural day of the two-day "Accessibility Summit - Empowering for Inclusion" here.

Real time speech-to-text transcription, computer vision capabilities and predictive text functionality are just a few examples of how AI is useful to people with disabilities.

Inaugurating the summit, Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities at the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, said that a strong public-private partnership can go a long way in empowering the differently-abled with equal access and opportunity.

Microsoft hosted the summit in collaboration with the National Association of the Deaf and National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People (NCPEPD), a non-profit organisation.

The two-day conference will also combine a rich mix of master classes and access to Microsoft's "AI for Accessibility" resources for the developer community with a showcase of inclusive technology, Microsoft said.

The showcase will feature technology-based projects from non-profit organisations, assistive technologies developed by leading technology companies, Microsoft partners as well as Microsoft solutions, the company added.