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Faculty Guide

Guide to effectively using library resources and services at HIU.

AI, Accessibility, and Disabilities

Some of the following are ideas about AI use for students that need help with accessibility or to help overcome their disability in the classroom and in coursework:

1 - Use a deep-fake generator to produce an avatar, and or a voice over, to replace the student giving a speech.

2 - Use text to speech software to help a student present something aloud.

3 - Use an AI to summarize journal articles.

4 - Use Adobe Acrobat's built-in text to voice to have the computer read the article aloud.

AI can help overcome several accessibility issues in higher education:

  1. Reading, Writing, and Note-Taking: AI can assist neurodivergent students or those with learning difficulties who may struggle with these tasks1.
  2. Content Accessibility: AI technologies like text-to-speech recognition and auto-captioning can make content more accessible2.
  3. Universal Design: AI can help create an environment that includes all people, regardless of ability or disability3.
  4. Course Material Accessibility: AI can help ensure that course materials are accessible to all students4.

Ethical use of AI by college students with disabilities involves:

  1. Authenticity: Ensuring that AI is used to reflect students’ work5.
  2. Accountability: Taking full responsibility for AI outputs5.
  3. Access: Considering fairness in AI technologies’ accessibility and availability5.
  4. Awareness: Promoting AI literacy and ethical understanding5.
  5. Privacy: Understanding the privacy policies of AI tools6.
  6. Universal Access: Prioritizing universal access to ensure that students with disabilities are not disadvantaged3.