Who Gets Heard? Rethinking Voice Recognition and Accessibility

Voice recognition is everywhere, but it often fails for people with speech disabilities. This session explores where current systems fall short and why that’s an ethical issue, not just a technical one. Based on the chapter ‘Making Every Voice Heard: The Ethics of Voice Recognition Technology’ from Digital Accessibility Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech, you’ll get practical ways for inclusive voice and multimodal alternatives, plus the book’s Ethics Framework for product decisions.

Meenakshi “Meena” Das

Meenakshi “Meena” Das is a software engineer and accessibility advocate focused on making technology more inclusive. As someone with a stutter, she brings both lived experience and a practical perspective to her work. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Teach Access and an active voice in the accessibility community through speaking and writing. Her work has been recognised with honours, including the Disability:IN NextGen Leader of the Year and the DO-IT Trailblazer Award by the University of Washington. Meena is also a contributing author to the upcoming Digital Accessibility Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech book.