Breaking Visual Barriers with Artificial Intelligence: The Art of Making AI a Mentor and "Eyes" for the Visually Impaired

Kartunet - The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) often sparks public concern about potential job displacement. However, for people with visual impairments, the advent of AI has become an extraordinary accessibility revolution. Instead of being a threat, AI can be optimized as a personal assistant, learning mentor, and even a virtual "eye" that bridges visual barriers in the digital world.

During the 59th Anniversary Webinar of the Indonesian Blind Association (Pertuni), three visually impaired technology experts shared their insights and practical tricks for employing AI to enhance (boost) their capabilities in the tech industry.

1. AI as an Accessible Instructor (Putri's Experience)

Learning new things, such as programming languages (coding), often poses a unique challenge for the visually impaired because most online tutorials (like YouTube) heavily rely on visual guides that cannot be read by screen readers. Facing this obstacle, Putri Rohmawati, a visually impaired Test Automation Engineer, tackles it by using text-based AI like ChatGPT.

The main key lies in prompt engineering (prompting). Putri modifies her prompts for AI to act as a disability-friendly mentor, for example, by typing: "Please act as an instructor and provide steps that can be operated by screen reader users." This way, AI can simplify tasks and become a responsive coding discussion partner at any time, boosting technical skills from an initial value of 50 to 80 or 90.

2. Real-Time AI as an Interface Reader (Gagah's Experience)

For visually impaired students or IT practitioners, the biggest visual barrier usually arises when dealing with design elements or User Interfaces (UI). In the past, copying code from a whiteboard or understanding design images without text narration was extremely difficult.

Muhammad Gagah, a visually impaired IT activist, revealed that AI technology has now advanced to the real-time stage, such as video call or screen sharing features in AI Studio. Visually impaired individuals can now share their computer screens and ask AI to read and describe interface elements or visual buttons from applications that are not accessible by standard screen readers. AI functions as an alternative "eye" that instantly resolves the confusion of visually impaired individuals when working on programming tasks.

3. AI Remains an Assistant, Not a Replacement for the Human Brain (Reksya's Experience)

Although AI is highly advanced, Reksya Muhammad, founder of the Inviart tech community, emphasizes that people with disabilities should not feel pessimistic or lose their creativity. The human brain remains more sophisticated than AI. He likens AI to an obedient assistant for performing complex structured tasks, such as writing network or server configurations.

However, blind reliance on AI is very dangerous. A person with a disability must still equip themselves with fundamental knowledge and creativity to be able to correct (troubleshooting) if AI provides incorrect configurations or answers. The ability to craft detailed and specific prompts is a skill that must be continuously trained to ensure AI produces accurate outputs.

Conclusion

Instead of rejecting technological progress, visually impaired individuals should seize this moment to explore AI as much as possible. Making AI a mentor and complementary "eye" is a form of self-realized Reasonable Accommodation. With good mastery of AI, visually impaired workers can prove that they are ready to collaborate and compete equally in the digital era. (DPM)

References:

• "59th Pertuni Anniversary Webinar: Becoming Empowered with Technology". YouTube Persatuan Tunanetra Indonesia.