Accessibility

Arlo was about to graduate with a degree in lighting design. During his last semester, his professor introduced him to a new tool that integrates AI in the lighting design process. The course was focused on how new technologies like creative AI tools could make the leading design process more efficient and intuitive.

Despite his enthusiasm, Arlo didn't have the money to access these tools. He went to school in a remote location, and they didn’t have the funding to grant all students with emerging technologies. Many students paid for these new tools, but Arlo would only have limited access to the free features they offered.

Arlo fell behind pretty quickly. He watched a handful of his classmates make quick advancements on their projects using AI tools while he manually created his designs. Arlo's experience resembled some of the findings that studies had found about unequal access to new technologies, and they needed to democratize the tools.

He wanted to know if his friends had this accessibility problem, so he asked his classmates and friends who go to other schools. Those he surveyed described a wide range of experiences. Some had full access to the latest AI tools because their families paid for it or they were able to use scholarships. Others, like Arlo, could only access basic versions. He also learned about open-source alternatives and some who pool their resources to share access to paid tools.

Arlo asked his professor if they could create a "tool-sharing" program within the department, where students booked time slots to use the AI software in their computer labs. He also suggested they approach the companies that created these tools to offer student discounts. His professor was receptive to the ideas and collaborated as a class to implement the tool-sharing program. They contacted several AI companies about educational partnerships, both of which began to level the playing field for students like Arlo.

What do you think?