WATCH NOW: XR ASSOCIATION’S WEBINAR ON EMPOWERING DISABILITY AND RESHAPING PRIVACY 

Last week, the XR Association (XRA) hosted the latest installment of the XR Community Discussion webinar series which bring the community together to discuss tough issues around the intersection of accessibility and immersive technology. Titled “AI Glasses: Empowering Disability and Reshaping Privacy,” this segment tackled the dichotomy between smart glasses as an accessibility aide and the pressing privacy concerns surrounding AI-powered wearables in public spaces.  

Hosted by Stephanie Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Research and Best Practices at XRA, the discussion featured industry leaders Andrew Eiche, CEOwl of Owlchemy Labs, and Avi Bar-Zeev, founder of the XRGuild who gave brief presentations.  

During the session, speakers shared insights into how virtual environments are becoming more accessible through lower barriers to entry and higher levels of customization. Furthermore, augmented reality glasses can make day-to-day life more accessible through advanced features such as live captioning and audio description. Underlining this process is an emphasis on incorporating user feedback into interface design to provide tailored accessible experiences. 

However, technologies like these are based on always-on camera systems and software like eye-tracking or facial recognition. Eiche and Bar-Zeev dove into the concerns and potential solutions surrounding these systems, discussing different consent mechanics, ways to build trust and safety through technology, and how to put people first in the design process. When platforms and developers align their privacy and accessibility standards, everyone benefits.