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A sad fact of tech is that most technology is meant to benefit people with eyesight. However, people who are visually impaired rely on technology as much as anyone else. Well, Microsoft has adopted a new AI technology that will help its blind customers better navigate its services, according to a new report.
There’s a service called Be My Eyes that helps people who are blind and visually impaired get through their every tasks. Well, Microsoft partnered with Be My Eyes and integrated its technology into its own Disability Answer Desk. It will help Microsoft customers with any sort of troubleshooting they need to do. Since this involves Microsoft, it should come as no surprise that this is an AI tool.
Microsoft will use AI to help its blind customers
Be My Eyes has been around since 2015, and the company just started working on implementing AI into its service. Called Be My AI, this service uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 to ascertain images taken with a phone. It will then give the user a verbal description of what’s in the picture. So, a person could take a picture of their medication or a user manual for a device. The app will give them verbal feedback on what they took a picture of.
This way, they have a way to know what’s going on around them. Right now, this function is in beta testing for iPhone users. If you want to learn more about this, you should go to the Be My Eyes page.
Microsoft is going to implement Be My AI’s technology into its Disability AnswerDesk. It’s essentially creating an AI-powered assistant that will help them with their technical problems. So, if a user is having trouble with one of the company’s services, they can use the AI assistant to solve their problems.
In fact, after some limited testing, it turns out that people prefer to go about it this way instead of talking to a human agent. About 90% of the people involved in the test chose using AI over a human being.
Microsoft is one of many companies gearing up to use Be My Eyes in their services. Other companies like Sony, Hilton, OpenAI, and Procter & Gamble are also looking to implement the technology into their services. This could be a game changer for people who are visually impaired.