This month we will continue a discussion on accessibility and AI begun last November. Join us to consider the following questions, or any other discussion points you'd like to contribute:

• How is accessibility being considered in AI adoption?
• What impacts will AI tools have on accessibility efforts?
• How accessible are generative AI chatbots?
• In what ways could AI be leveraged to help increase the accessibility of digital systems?
• What concerns exist in the adoption of AI to assist with digital accessibility tasks? How could they be remedied?

This is a nascent topic of discussion, so we don't expect to have all the answers. Rather, this will be an opportunity to share experiences from casual testing and building with AI tools in order to spark discussion and ideas for future investigation. We look forward to delving into the various ways that AI systems are impacting digital accessibility!

Topic 1: WordPress organizational chart plugin

Dena Strong would like to review the accessibility of a WordPress organization chart plugin. You can see it in action in this WordPress Organization Chart Plugin Demo. 

Topic 2: Profile Photo alt text

Alex Cordain would like to continue the discussion we started last October about whether or not to include alt text descriptions of people’s pictures in staff directories and similar pages (see "Alt text for photos on profile pages" meeting notes). We had some good discussion and a few initial recommendations; six months later, he'd like to revisit the topic to learn what others are doing and whether there are more concrete recommendations for this topic. This is particularly relevant as he works on improving the accessibility of DRES’ webpages in preparation for Title II, and has been wondering whether to start asking people to describe themselves when they provide their profile pictures.

Got a topic you'd like to discuss at this meeting? Let us know!

Or feel free to bring any web projects you’d like evaluated from an accessibility perspective or topics that are on your mind to the meeting! (Please send us URLs for web sites/applications in advance so we can be prepared to discuss any issues or questions.)

Mikael Arvola would like to discuss a new Carousel Component he has been building for the Illinois Theme. He built the component from the ground up with an "accessibility first" mindset. He spent a lot of time trying to make sure the experience is as universal as possible, rather than making a carousel and then making it accessible. That being said, he acknowledges that his view and experience isn't universal, so he's particularly interested in how the experience is for others.

Got a topic you'd like to discuss at this meeting? Let us know!

Or feel free to bring any web projects you’d like evaluated from an accessibility perspective or topics that are on your mind to the meeting! (Please send us URLs for web sites/applications in advance so we can be prepared to discuss any issues or questions.)

One topic has been submitted so far, but we'll still have time to discuss additional topics:

SkipTo.js updates

Jon Gunderson would like feedback on the SkipTo.js Web Browser Extension’s new sequential navigation feature to headings and landmark regions using shortcut keys. (This feature is disabled in the page script version.)