Articles by Erin Beel
Vyvanse Vacation
In my talk, “Beyond compliant — towards extraordinary. Designing a world where all people can belong” — I outlined a vision of accessibility. Drawing on my firsthand experiences of disability and chronic illness, I described a vision for the future where accessibility is not just a requirement, but instead an untapped opportunity. In it, I referenced some earlier writing, which I’ll quote here as a preface as to what is to come: “ Being a person with a disability can be expensive and frustrating.
CAPTCHA is a drag and should be dropped
This also applies to that revoltingly awful play on words I just attempted 3 hours later, I spotted my first 2.2 failure in the wild. I got an email notification and tried to log into ProtonMail. Blocking my path was a CAPTCHA - my nemesis. Now, if you've followed me for a while, or had more than a passing conversation with me, you'd likely know I have a grudge against CAPTCHAs. They are mostly inaccessible, a terrible user experience and really - just shouldn't exist.
CAPTCHA is a drag and should be dropped
Once you know what inaccessible is, you'll encounter it everywhere. Ever learnt something and then immediately start seeing it everywhere? Sometimes it's the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. But when it's the new Accessibility criteria (or tropes like the colour grading of Michael Bay movies) - it's more like the... Badder Mine-EYES phenomenon.
The great AI debate: Jurassic Park lessons that may surprise you
There is currently a lot of hype surrounding AI. Media scaremongering and misinformation abound, often centring around dystopian futures that feature the end of humanity. In my opinion, the underlying source of all the negativity boils down to the following: fear of the unknown, writes Erin Beel, Design and Accessibility Manager, CI&T. Fear of the unknown is a fundamental fear that all humans share, to varying degrees.
artificial intelligence
Tech 6 AI tools that make doing business better Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising how businesses operate, allowing companies of all sizes to automate tasks, increase efficiency and grow revenue. When people think AI, they often associate that with ChatGPT but actually there are tons of great AI tools that can help with specific tasks, writes Nick Brogden. AI-powered tools are particularly useful… Read more »
An eerie prediciton of today's automotive industry
The car's headlights look like eyes, and its front grille looks like gritted teeth. It is yet unclear why the Cyber Car is so aggressive. It is interesting that CyberCar was able to ascertain the policeman's gender. Not a feature that I'd personally prioritise for a Cyber Car. Bit unnecessary, bit political. I wonder which of the many violations of today's current road rules Mr Simpson is being pulled over for? I'd say 4, but I might be influenced by the page number.
Virtually unpopular: lessons From Second Life
How biases and social norms persist in metaverses, and factors to consider before implementing a virtual world. Early in my tech and design career, I was tasked with “exploring Second Life.” My employer, a university, was considering purchasing virtual “land” to conduct classes and host events. They wanted me to road-test the platform, and give my opinion if it was a worthwhile investment. I entered the platform without much understanding of it, except for what I had heard in the media.
Moving from ACCESS to DELIGHT for people with Disability
I'm Erin and I'm the Design and Accessibility Manager at Transpire and I am a person with a disability. I can't be there in person as I've got a nasty virus - hence my gravelly voice. Thanks to my altered state, this is going to be a mix of fever dream, rant and wishlist. Not really that different from me communicating when I'm not virussy, but it's a good excuse nonetheless for this stream of consciousness. So onto my topic: How can we move from ACCESS to DELIGHT for people with disability?
CAPTCHA and the BIT.C.H-100
After I finished giggling at this ridiculous CAPTCHA (see first image), I pondered the nature of how culturally-specific CAPTCHAS can be, and the potential for them to exclude people who don't recognise or understand the symbols. Image CAPTCHAs aka Turing Tests such as this one presume that every human in the world: a) knows what a lion looks like b) can differentiate between images of a cat and a lion c) have vision By not matching the lions, these people are deemed non-humans, robots.
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