There’s been a lot of discussion about AI on here recently, and I thought I’d share how I/we make use of new technology to help with disability.

First things first, statistically speaking the majority of people that use AI aren’t disabled. This is the case with most technology, unless it was made specifically for disabled people (like those devices that open jars for you, and even then I wonder if they’re actually mostly used by disabled people).

But, I often see some people idly say things like “then how did disabled people manage before this technology existed??” (AI, smartphones, delivery services, you name it)

Well, we adopt technology because it helps make things a little bit easier, even if it doesn’t cure us.

Let’s take writing email, but it could be anything. On some days you still have to write email even if you’re not having a good day. And because they don’t know you’re disabled, you have to make it look good and normal. AI saves up energy on those days so that we can do something else, i.e. it doesn’t take a spoon if you saw my last post.

This frees up effort and lets me do another thing during the day.

Same thing with grocery shopping. How would I have “coped” before delivery services? (Mine is handled by the grocery chain themselves). you’d have to wait for someone in your family to have the time to do grocery shopping for you or take you shopping, and you’d need 3 days afterwards to finish recovering from that trip. You wouldn’t know exactly when they could get them for you and you’d have to plan your entire week around that one monthly trip. Getting my groceries delivered still takes up energy cause I have to put them away, but less than if I had to go myself.