How Algorithmic Bias Shapes Accessibility: What Disabled People Ought to Know
Artificial intelligence (AI) is often described as a tool that shall make life easier, faster and more efficient. Yet for many disabled people, AI brings both promise and risk. When algorithms are trained on limited or biased data, or when designers fail to consider diverse disabled experiences, these systems may quietly reproduce old forms of exclusion in new digital forms. Accessibility, therefore, is not simply a technical feature but a matter of rights, dignity and equal participation.
Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), States Parties shall ensure accessible information, communication and technologies. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 carries this obligation into Indian law. Meanwhile, the European Union’s AI Act offers a regulatory model that treats disability bias as a serious risk requiring oversight. Bringing these frameworks together helps us understand why disabled persons ought to be vigilant about the role AI plays in everyday life.
How algorithmic bias affects accessibility
Algorithmic bias occurs when an AI system consistently produces outcomes that disadvantage a particular group. In the disability context, this may happen when data lacks representation of disabled people, or when models assume “typical” bodies, voices or behaviour. Such bias affects accessibility in very practical ways.
Speech-recognition tools may fail to understand persons with atypical speech. Facial-recognition systems may misclassify persons with facial differences. Recruitment algorithms may penalise gaps in employment history or interpret assistive-technology use as “unusual”. Navigation apps may not consider wheelchair-friendly routes because the training data assumes a walking user. Each of these failures reduces accessibility and reinforces the barriers the UNCRPD seeks to dismantle.
Crucially, these problems are rarely intentional. AI systems do not “decide” to discriminate; rather, they reflect the gaps, stereotypes and exclusions already embedded in data and design. This makes bias more difficult to detect, but no less harmful.
Why this matters for disabled people
Accessibility is not a favour. It is a right grounded in the principles of equality, non-discrimination and full participation. When AI systems shape access to employment, education, public services or communication, biased outcomes can have life-changing consequences.
For disabled people in India, the impact may be even greater. Digital public systems such as Aadhaar-linked services, online recruitment platforms, telemedicine and e-governance tools increasingly rely on automated processes. If these systems are inaccessible or biased, disabled persons may be excluded from essential services by design.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities has warned that AI can deepen inequality if disabled persons are not part of design, testing and oversight. Disability rights organisations must therefore engage proactively with AI governance, insisting on meaningful participation and accountability.
What rights and safeguards exist
The UNCRPD provides a clear rights-based framework: States shall ensure accessibility of ICTs, prohibit discrimination and guarantee equal opportunity. The RPwD Act mirrors these obligations within India. While neither document was written specifically with AI in mind, their principles apply directly to automated systems that determine or mediate access.
The EU AI Act, although external to India, demonstrates how regulation can address disability bias explicitly. It prohibits AI systems that exploit vulnerability due to disability and classifies several disability-related systems as high-risk, subject to strict obligations. Importantly, it permits the use of disability-related data for the purpose of detecting and mitigating bias, provided strong safeguards are in place.
Taken together, these instruments show that accessible AI is not merely a technical ideal; it is a regulatory and human-rights requirement.
What disabled persons and advocates ought to do
Disabled users and organisations shall insist on the following:
Moving towards accessible and fair AI
AI can expand accessibility when designed with care: speech-to-text tools, captioning systems, image-to-speech applications and digital navigation aids all hold transformative potential. However, potential alone is insufficient. Without deliberate attention to disability rights, AI may reinforce the very inequalities it claims to solve.
India stands at a critical point. With rapid digitisation and a strong disability-rights framework, it has the opportunity to lead in disability-inclusive AI. Policymakers, designers, researchers and civil-society actors must ensure that systems deployed in public and private sectors respect accessibility, transparency and fairness.
AI shall not decide the terms of accessibility; human judgement, accountability and rights-based governance must guide its development.
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