Disability Data Alarmingly Absent From AI Algorithmic Tools, Report Suggests

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Disability Data Alarmingly Absent From AI Algorithmic Tools, Report Suggests

Gus Alexiou
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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

I write about accessibility, inclusion and social justice.

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Aug 6, 2024,07:00am EDT

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Computer algorithms are increasingly influencing multiple areas of society

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Current AI and algorithmic decision-making tools, the use of which is growing across society exponentially, lack high-quality data about people with disabilities.

This is one of the conclusions to emerge from the latest report published by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology which has been campaigning for equality in digital rights since the earliest days of the internet. In the paper published in July entitled “To Reduce Disability Bias in Technology, Start With Disability Data,” the authors set out to explain the risks of excluding people with disabilities from this new and increasingly prevalent technology, why high-quality data related to the disabled experience can be difficult to come by as well as providing tips on inclusive approaches to data capture.

This is of critical importance because those arenas where the use of artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making software has become most widespread also happen to be some [...]