Disability, Bias, and AI

  • Meredith Whittaker ,
  • Meryl Alper ,
  • Cynthia L. Bennett ,
  • Sara Hendren ,
  • Liz Kaziunas ,
  • Mara Mills ,
  • Meredith Ringel Morris ,
  • Joy Rankin ,
  • Emily Rogers ,
  • Marcel Salas ,
  • Sarah Myers West

MSR-TR-2019-38 |

Published by AI Now Institute

On March 28, 2019, the AI Now Institute at New York University (NYU), the NYU Center for Disability Studies, and Microsoft convened disability scholars, AI developers, and computer science and human-computer interaction researchers to discuss the intersection of disability, bias, and AI, and to identify areas where more research and intervention are needed. This report captures and expands on some of the themes that emerged during discussion and debate. In particular, it identifies key questions that a focus on disability raises for the project of understanding the social implications of AI, and for ensuring that AI technologies don’t reproduce and extend histories of marginalization.

Our Responsibility: Disability, Bias, and AI

Presented by Natasha Crampton and Meredith Ringel Morris at Microsoft's 2020 Ability Summit, Microsoft AI offers tremendous potential for empowering people with disabilities and is already delivering on that promise. Yet, AI also raises new challenges related to fairness and inclusion, which need to be identified and mitigated in a principled and intentional way. Learn about Microsoft's approach to responsible AI, as well as some key research directions for AI and accessibility.