On May 15, Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), joined the Access Board in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU also included the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and aims to address equity and accessibility under the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development & Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This initiative ensures that the disability community is engaged around AI developments.
In her remarks, Reeve Givens thanked Director Pavithran, Access Board staff, and AAPD for embarking on this partnership. She emphasized CDT's mission to ensure that technology serves to empower and connect people while protecting against its potential risks and misuses.
Reeve Givens noted that AI holds enormous potential to improve accessibility, facilitate communication, and help people with disabilities access new opportunities. However, she also highlighted that AI is increasingly being used in high-stakes areas that can significantly impact people’s lives. For instance, AI systems are already being used today to decide who gets hired for a job or approved for a loan or parole.
She stressed that these systems often go wrong by making decisions about people based not on their own merits but on inferences about them. By their very design, they don’t account well for human variation and outliers from a perceived statistical “norm”. Therefore, it is essential that AI conversations consciously center issues of representation, equity, and bias.
At CDT, Reeve Givens stated they are deeply focused on ensuring responsible design, use, testing and legal accountability for AI systems. They are also working towards ensuring that the accessibility gains of AI tools do not come with inequitable costs.
As more companies lean into AI to support accessibility and inclusion, Reeve Givens emphasized the need to empower those affected by AI systems to have a voice in how these tools are built, used, and regulated. She expressed delight that the Access Board is taking a leadership role in this effort and looked forward to the partnership with AAPD.