Microsoft recruits accessibility app to make its AI more useful to blind and low-vision users
Be My Eyes will provide anonymized data to train Microsoft’s AI.
Be My Eyes, the accessibility app for mobile devices that puts blind and low-vision people on a live video call with a sighted guide, will help Microsoft train its AI. Be My Eyes will provide anonymized video data to improve scene understanding in Microsoft’s accessibility-focused AI models.
The data sets Be My Eyes gives Microsoft will include “unique objects, lighting and framing that realistically represents the lived experience of the blind and low vision community.” The goal is to make Microsoft’s AI more inclusive for people with vision disabilities.
The companies say all personal info has been scrubbed from the metadata. The provided data won’t be used for advertising or any purpose other than training Microsoft’s AI models.
Although this is Be My Eyes’ first such data partnership, it’s worked with Microsoft before by incorporating its Be My AI tool into Microsoft’s Disability Answer Desk. As its name suggests, Be My AI is the company’s GPT-4-powered spin on an assistance product. In that case, it helps people with vision disabilities navigate Office, Windows and Xbox.
Be My Eyes also struck a deal with Hilton earlier this month. In that case, dedicated hotel staff help blind and low-vision lodgers do things like adjust their thermostats, make coffee and raise or lower their blinds. A previous 2023 partnership between the two companies helped train the Be My AI model.
