AI and Accessibility: Building the Accessibility Professional of the Future

On Friday 27th June, John and Cat attended a Jisc workshop exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping the skills and mindsets needed in the field of accessibility. The half-day in-person event brought together learning designers, academics, researchers, learning technologists, and library staff to discuss one pressing question: how can we ensure accessibility remains human-cenred in an AI-driven world? 

Future Skills for a Hybrid World

Dimple Khagram (Purple Beard) opened with an inspiring keynote, Beyond the Bots: Future Skills for a Hybrid World. Dimple argued that while AI may automate tasks and replicate patterns, it cannot replace what makes us fundamentally human. Emotional intelligence, ethical leadership, creativity, resilience, and collaboration are skills we must protect and grow. Her call to action was clear:

Be the human AI can't replace.

For accessibility professionals, this means keeping people - and their diverse needs - at the heart of our work, and ensuring technology serves to enhance, not diminish, inclusion. 

Challenging Bias and Imagining Better Futures

Next, Dr. Sarah Lewthwaite (University of Southampton) challenged us to think critically about how AI might reinforce ableist assumptions. If AI simply replicates patterns found in its training data, it risks reproducing exclusionary practices. She asked us to consider, 'how do we ensure that as technology advances, accessibility becomes more human-centred, not less?'

Sarah went on to introducee the concept of crip futurism — a powerful idea of imagining and creating futures that not only include but celebrate disabled people. This vision asks us to move beyond fixing what exists and instead to design with disabled voices shaping the technology itself. 

Participants also discussed the positives and negatives of AI in education and accessibility. On the positive side, AI-powered assistive technologies and improved tools for writing and captioning are already making a difference. But many noted a risk: that the AI hype is overshadowing hard-won progress on accessibility, and that equity of access remains a concern. 

Inclusive Communication and Community-Led Design

Tim Scannell, a deaf accessibility consultant, shared his insights on AI and inclusive communication in his talk Bridging Science: AI, BSL, and Inclusive Communication. He reminded us that British Sign Language (BSL) is more than just another language — it carries its own grammar, facial expressions, and cultural context, which AI currently struggles to capture.

The deaf community has been advocating for involvement with accessibility practices for many years, and although the community is more 'seen' than before, Tim made the point that the deaf community needs to be involved in shaping the tools intended for them, ensuring AI supports respectful and authentic communication - there is still work to be done on that. 

The Skills We Can't Afford to Lose 

Finally, Ben Gorman (Bournemouth University) discussed the limits of AI in meeting accessibility needs in Accessible by Default? AI Tools and the Skills We Can’t Afford to Lose. Ben stressed that while AI can be prompted to meet accessibility standards, it doesn’t inherently understand what accessibility is, nor does it have ethical judgement or critical thinking. Tools like 'prompty files' can help developers embed accessibility standards in AI-generated outputs - but humans must still know what to ask for and how to assess what they get. The attendees were reminded that, 'as AI mirrors us, we're still learning - so AI is still learning'. 

Moving Forward: Human Values First

The event concluded with a collective commitment to keep accessibility as a shared, ethical responsibility. AI can and should support accessibility - but only when driven by human awareness, education, and community-led solutions. Inclusion, after all, is about participation, not just representation. 

For accessibility professionals of the future, the message was clear: embrace the tools, but never lose sight of the people they are meant to serve.