Is the using AI a good idea when it comes to building accessible experiences on the web? Can tools like ChatGPT or Vision help us to build better websites and apps, or can they be considered harmful?
What about this image? Would you consider this AI-generated alt text good? Suitable? Appropriate? Or maybe inappropriate, bad or even harmful? This alternative text was created in seconds using the Ice Cubes Mastodon client which itself uses OpenAI’s “Vision”.
I’ve seen lots of people being critical of the development of AI, even rejecting it outright. And don’t get me wrong; there are lots of examples where the results of AI lead to dubious and even horrible, biased, racist, misogynist and sexist results, not to speak of the environmental costs of training and using AI powered systems.
Maybe you remember the hype about v0.dev from Vercel?! Praised as a tool that could magically create “copy-paste-friendly React code” by giving it a text prompt like “webapp for create dynamic forms CRM”, it took minutes to see that it could not produce accessible results at all.
And how could it? Large language models like ChatGPT are just good at predicting the next word or phrase based on the input it “learned” from. When it comes to HTML, they learned from the reality out there. We have known since long before the WebAim Million that the web is not in a good state as far as accessibility is concerned.
But despite all the drawbacks, are there areas in which AI systems excel?
What I hear all the time, when talking to people about providing accessible content, is:
“We don’t have time/resources for this”
You could argue that accessibility is important enough to make time and provide resources. To learn how to write good alternative texts and to take the time to write an easy language version of all texts. And I would agree. Accessibility should play a much more important role in all our lives. It should be the norm, nothing special. But to most people it simply is not nor will it ever be.
What if we set the barrier for providing accessible content so ridiculously low, that everybody not providing alt texts felt a little ashamed of themselves, because they didn’t even find the time to press one simple button?
There’s nothing like a handcrafted, well-written alt text. When I post a photo, I know exactly its context, why I post it, and its main motif. I can write the perfect alt text if I have the time, a good keyboard and all the knowledge. But as soon as I leave the door the display of my smartphone raises a small, but significant barrier for me. I don’t like typing long texts on a software keyboard nor, am I good at it. If I have the opportunity to let a robot do the hard work and I am just the overseer who corrects the mistakes, I am all in.
Yes, there are cases where no alt text is better than a bad one, or better than one at all. But isn’t an automatic alt text better than nothing most of the time?
I’d love to hear from people who use screen readers on a daily basis. What do you think about generated alt texts?
Easy language is one of the pain points of many websites. For example, every government website in Germany has to be accessible. Most of them lack easy language. Can easy language provided by an AI be any good?
There are models which are specifically trained to deliver easy language, but for a short test I took ChatGPT and gave it this prompt:
Write two sentences about how ai creates easy language from text
Its first answer:
AI demonstrates proficiency in transforming complex language into easily understandable text, catering to a diverse audience. By simplifying vocabulary and sentence structures, AI facilitates a more inclusive reading experience for individuals with varying levels of linguistic proficiency.
Well, that sounds pretty intimidating, doesn’t it? So I asked it to…
make this text easier
ChatGPT:
AI is really good at making hard words and sentences easy to understand, helping lots of different people read and understand things better. It takes complicated language and turns it into simpler words and sentences, making it easier for everyone to get the information they need.
Me:
even easier
ChatGPT:
AI is great at making difficult words and sentences simple. It helps many people read and understand things better by turning hard language into easier words and sentences.
I did this in a matter of minutes. What do you think? Did it turn out any good? Would it be good enough to put it on a website? Would it be better than no easy language at all?
Are there any other good examples where AI could help us more accessible websites? Tell me!.
Despite AI's capabilities, human supervision is crucial. AI models may occasionally misinterpret nuances, making human oversight essential for refining content, avoiding biases, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and cultural sensitivity.
AI will not go away soon. Let’s be open to the future, while keeping a critical eye.
…and I am an Expert for Web Accessibility and UX-Engineer with over 20 years of experience, by day. By night I am a podcaster and live streamer.
I help organizations build accessible websites by offering accessibility talks, workshops & trainings, accessibility reviews and developing strategies for developers and management.
If that sounds like you could use my help, let’s talk! 💬