Some do say “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man (or woman) is King (or Queen). With the recent introduction of multimodal large language models such as GPT-4, is the kingdom of the blind a republic? Are we all now one-eyed men and women? Has AI really turned blind people into partially sighted people like the Blind AI says? My answer is “Sorta Kinda.”
And if it hasn’t, it won’t be long until it has. Models are improving all the time, and there are good reasons for the largest companies in the world to keep pouring money into continuing and even increasing the rate of improvement. For once, blind people are benefitting from a general technology (Computer Vision) that is, almost, more useful to sighted people than blind people – or at least there is a great deal of money to be made by making computer vision as good as possible as fast as possible. You only have to think about how good text-to-speech got after sighted people found a use for it!
But here’s the thing: we don’t only live in the kingdom of the blind. So, being Queen of it, while fun for a while, is ultimately dissatisfying. Yes, it can feel good to have technological solutions and tools that allow us to navigate a world that isn’t made with us in mind, but the ‘real dream’ is to live in the kingdom of the sighted—on equal terms.
And here’s where the crux of the issue lies. For blind people to truly participate in the sighted world, technologies like computer vision need to be perfect, or very close to it. Almost isn’t good enough. Self-driving cars are a perfect analogy: if a car can only drive itself some of the time, it’s basically useless. You can’t trust it to get you from point A to point B safely, and you’d never be able to relax knowing that it might fail when you need it most. The same is true for us when it comes to computer vision or any assistive technology—if it works 80% of the time, that 20% failure is enough to leave us stranded, confused, or, worse,dead!
So while we might be enjoying the progress of AI and these incredible new tools that give us a glimpse of sight, we’re still not truly there yet. The kingdom of the sighted is still just out of reach, and I, for one, won’t be satisfied until I can fully step back into it with confidence—where technology doesn’t just assist me, but allows me to live as seamlessly as my sighted counterparts.
Until then, I’ll keep moving forward, with one eye open, knowing that the real revolution comes when we’re all seeing clearly, not just partially.
“I’m The Blind AI” I’m blind and I use AI. I’m blind all the time and it effects almost everything I do. I use AI almost all the time and it helps me do a lot of tings easier, quicker and sometimes better. If you are wondering if I use AI to help me write posts like this one, the answer is probably yes, but not definitely, not always and probably not this post.
Comments
Just to clarify
This post is about my doubt over the hype around the current sate of AI and Computer Vision. It's good, but is it good enough? That sort of thing...had some confused pushback.
Not sure why
Pushback Lottie? Why, this post is on point. We are not at a point when this stuff is complete. We may never get there but give it a few years and we will be nearer. If this was all perfect we wouldn't need to discuss it.
Bionic Confusion
I was confused by the term "computer vision." The first few times through, I thought it meant some kind of thing they stick in your brain that makes you see by way of computer.
If we had been actually talking about that, I would have said we should demand that the computer vision should give superior sight compared to regular eyes. It does in science fiction.
I guess we aren't talking about that though. However, shouldn't we be demanding something that gives us an edge over the sighted? Something that makes us royalty, at least in certain areas of the kingdom of the sighted?
Well OB, I've always been a bit of a Princess!
But I guess that's not what you meant.
As you've realised Cmputer Vision is a discipline within AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) It is really useful for things like self-driving cars, process automation and humanoid robots!
That means a lot of money is being poured into it and everyone needs it to get better, a lot better, quickly.
That's good for us, but I doubt it will ever be like being able to see. But it might enable to do all those things for which sight is necessary.
That used to be the definition of Blind in the UK, what you folks call Legally Blind. If you had insufficient sight to do a job for which sight is necessary...they gave you a stick and a radio - with a dog chaser if you wanted it!
It must improve
Don't get me wrong. Current AI technology is a boon for us blindies. But I feel the same way about AI as I do, say, gene therapy.
LCA has a gene therapy treatment, and some RP mutations will have their day soon. That’s great. But, to my knowledge, these treatments don’t restore full sight. They’re nowhere near as effective as the gene therapy for, say, sickle cell anemia. Besides, I wouldn’t settle for full sight restoration. We’re living in the future. Where’s my bionic eye? If they can edit the DNA, why can’t I have the eyesight of a hawk? Or the night vision of a cat? I want better. I expect better.
Same for AI. Charlotte has already summed things up quite well. But I’ll say it another way: What we have today is a good start.
What do we really need? We need AI that we can interact with much like another human. I can call my spouse over to my computer to help me use a mouse-only control on somebody’s junior high project website. A friend can look at a tax form and tell me what it says. At a conference, a sighted guide can get me from one session to the next and help me find associates I need to speak with.
All of that is beyond the capability of today’s AI technology. But the ability to grok a tax form alone would be invaluable, even for the sighties.
What we have today is great, and I use it daily. But it will get better, and I only hope it happens before I’m a tottering old man wiping saliva from my beard stubble.
Hey Paul
Those things at the end, the cmputer, tax and getting around stuff - that will be done by the end of 2025. Where we go from there...who knows! Persoanlly, I want to be downloaded, encoded and uploaded into a quantum computer to live forever! But I'll settle for all your predictions, Glidance working plus automatic audio description in the next two years.
Is this possible?
You know what would be nice? It would be incredibly practical if there was an assistant on the device, where we could tell them what to do, and have them carry out the functions for us. For example, on screen, I have a five minute video. Trim the first 50 seconds, and the last 20 seconds of the video. Basically, I don't know if this would be possible, or not, but an artificial intelligent virtual assistant, like a program, similar to the chatbots that we have where they could understand our queries, and complete the actions for us. If I have a picture on screen, I should be able to say, on the right side of the picture, where the dog is located, put a text box with the word, happy birthday in glowing pink letters. Change the background from a park to the beach with fluffy white clouds in the background. Remove the blue house from the picture. Or, change the blue house to a red house. If we can have conversations with these language learning models, I don't see why they can't be used for editing as well, once they understand what we're asking for .
Coming soon
"Remove the blue house from the picture" should be possible with an iPhone 16 Pro and the Apple Intelligence capabilities in iOS 18.1.
In The Singularity is Nearer, Ray Kurzweil has a lot to say on this subject. Ray and Charlotte can both look forward to uploading themselves to a cloud server.
Better AI is coming sooner than we think. Kurzweil cited someone as saying, back in 2015, how it might be decades before an AI could fully describe an image, and how that capability was available only months after its improbability had been declared.
Bring it on, baby.
Using AI for creativity
You know, AI has really come a long way, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how it could help blind people like me get into creative fields. When I was younger, I always wanted to create animations or cartoons, but obviously, being blind made that kind of tricky. Now though, with AI evolving the way it is, I think it’s totally possible for people like me to design characters and scenes with just a description.
For example, let’s say I wanted to create a character named Madison. She’s a teenager living in Greenville Park in the year 5065. I imagine her with blonde hair, blue eyes, a dark tan because she’s a surfer – you get the picture. I should be able to just describe her like that, tell the AI something like, “Madison walks to the fridge, grabs a bottle of Luna Blaze sports drink, takes a sip,” and the AI should generate that scene for me. It’d be even better if I could assign voices to these characters and write out their dialogue. That way, AI could take my script and bring it to life, visually or through audio.
I know some people worry about AI taking away from artists’ creativity, but I don’t see it that way. I feel like we all draw from some kind of collective knowledge anyway. Nobody’s the first or last person to come up with an idea. Sure, AI pulls from all over the place, but so do we when we create. For me, it’s about giving blind or visually impaired people a chance to explore creativity in ways that weren’t possible before.
Even if someone isn’t going to do it on a professional level, it could still be fun to play around with these tools. AI could help create audio-based cartoons or stories for people who can’t see but still want to tell visual stories, or for those who had sight before and want to get back into something like graphic design. I feel like the opportunity should be there for anyone who wants to give it a try.
Quantum computer
So call AI will not work until better computer based on quantum technology is develop.So much energy is wasted on them at this time. Whoever develops quantum tech will be ahead of the AI.
Roses, I hope you are able to bring your vision to life
This is why I am a supporter of vision and video models, in spite of the issues. If it helps blind people share there visions with the sighted, then it is assistive technology as far as I am concerned.
I have a joke arts project - Through the AIs of the Blind. I call myself a blind visual artist, one day it might be true. I do think the mix of images and the descriptions the AIs generate is interesting...
@Winter Roses
As an artist, bla bla, bla, I'm not so worried about AI replacing me, or draining my creativity. I am concerned, however, about people not disclosing that their art is aided by or fully generated by AI, rather than their own skills.
Your idea sounds like a winner. When I was a sighted kid, I did draw cartoons, as in the comic book cells, and even dabbled in drawing 3D to be viewed with the red and blue filtered glasses. It was fun. I never did animation, beyond drawing on the outer margins of books and flipping through the pages. It was mostly film back then, way to expensive to fool around.
Creating possibilities, and beyond
For me, it’s not so much about dreams because, well, dreams are just that—dreams. They don’t always come true, no matter who you are. But it’s more about the possibility. I remember hearing about a blind student in college who was studying stars and constellations. She found a way to assign an audio tone to each star, creating a way for her to “see” the night sky through sound. That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about—the potential of technology.
But outside of tech, having a disability is still tough. We talk about all these advancements, but how do we get that technology into the hands of more people, especially those who need it the most? A lot of blind people live in developing or Third World countries, and there are so many barriers to overcome. One step at a time, right? Technology is only part of the solution, but attitude, respect, and understanding intangible concepts—that’s another.
There are plenty of blind people out there doing amazing things—lawyers, doctors, even police officers—but many of us end up with basic jobs like taking notes or answering calls. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I feel like there should be more options. Why not encourage more blind people to start their own companies or create what they need, when they need it?
The way I see it, blind people should have the chance to pursue any job that interests them—modeling, fashion, photography, you name it. It’s not just about me, it’s about giving others the possibility, or at least getting them closer to whatever it is they want to do. It’s about not being stuck in a limited set of jobs. Sure, people say blind folks can do anything, but it’s not always true. You have to take family dynamics, social class, and economic background into account—but that’s another conversation entirely.
Either way, there are so many jobs out there, and so many jobs that haven’t even been created yet. You never know what’s possible until we start opening doors for more people.
AI user disclosure agreement
You know, honestly, I’m not sure where I stand when it comes to disclosing the use of artificial intelligence (AI). As a totally blind person, there’s just no way I can generate certain things myself. At the end of the day, we all need help, right? If someone helps you with your taxes, medical documents, or anything else, you don’t always feel the need to announce that you had help, right? I know it’s not exactly the same concept, but if I use AI to help me, I don’t feel like I have to broadcast that either. For instance, I’m not a professional writer, but sometimes I use AI to help me come up with storylines or ideas. Say I’m designing a world where people live in underground apartments. They have screens in their homes that let them see what’s happening on the surface in real-time, but only what they’d normally be able to see if they were standing outside their front door. So, they can only see their block—nothing beyond their line of sight. Like, if Madison is standing in her apartment and her friend Emily walks by with her dog Toby, Madison can see that on her screen in real-time. She could then text Emily, saying, “Hey, wait for me, I just saw you passing by.” I don’t know if that idea is great or not, but my point is: AI helps me flesh out these ideas. I can type anything into an AI program, but I still need to have a direction for where I want the concept to go. AI doesn’t make sense unless I, as the user, already understand the fundamentals of what I’m trying to create. Sure, AI can give me ideas, but if I don’t have the vision or the core concept in mind, it won’t be helpful. I’m not saying everyone has to disclose their use of AI, but in certain job settings where it’s required, I get it. But when it comes to personal projects, like writing, I don’t think I need to say, “Oh, I used AI for this.” For example, sometimes I write a scene, then I run it through an AI program to ask if it makes sense. I don’t have a visual image in my mind because I’ve never seen the world before, so AI helps me with character descriptions, physical settings, and making sure the details of a scene flow naturally. But even if the AI generates a scene for me, I still add my own touch. It has to be edited, and it needs that human element. I don’t believe I need to disclose every time I use AI, especially if the final product feels natural and works well. The problem is, some people just type something into AI and expect it to be perfect without editing or adding anything personal to it. That’s beyond useless. Writing still needs a human touch, and even if I copy and paste something generated by AI, it needs to be tweaked to fit the style I want. The truth is, you can’t always tell when something’s written by AI, because people were writing long before AI existed, and they’ll continue to write long after. Even if you write something entirely on your own and run it through an AI detection program, it might still say a portion was generated by AI! So why should I have to disclose whether I used AI to assist me? I want to make it clear that you can’t always tell from just looking at a text. Sure, you might be able to pick out certain words or phrases and think, “OK, maybe an AI program used this phrase or these particular words.” But I’ve seen plenty of books, even traditionally published ones, that weren’t exactly perfect either. The challenge with AI is that while it can generate a concept, it doesn’t always mean it can recreate that concept the same way. It’s pretty random right now. For example, if you generate a picture or video, it’s difficult to make something similar in style because of how unpredictable AI can be. That’s a limitation, but I still don’t feel the need to broadcast that I use AI. A lot of my hesitation has to do with the attitudes people have toward AI use. If I’m in a professional setting where disclosure is necessary, sure, I get that. But outside of that, what I use to help me is my business. I know what I know, and you know what you know. Sometimes, you’ve just got to do what you have to do and let the audience form their own opinions. It’s like plastic surgery—people might suspect someone had work done, and they might insist that person needs to disclose it. But if it doesn’t directly affect you, and no one is being harmed, why make it a big deal? If you know, you know, but I don’t need to come out and admit to using AI if it doesn’t change anything for anyone else. I think about it like this: if I don’t have the means to create something visually on my own, then yes, I’m going to use AI for graphic design or descriptions. And graphic designers or digital creators don’t always announce the specific tools they use—so why should I? Two individuals can type the same prompt, or a similar prompt, into the same generator, and get entirely different results, and if they make edits, then, you get an entirely different product. Two persons can come up with the same name for a business, especially a small business, despite never knowing the existence of the other.
speaking of disclosures...
What do people think of mine at the end of this post? Fair? Accurate? Enough?
I've been approached over my use of AI on the site. I've offered to include this message, but the jury is still out. This might be my last post.
Art
@Winter Roses, ya, I didn't quite express what I was feeling, and I did mean in certain professional situations, as much as that term makes me cringe.
I guess a better way to express it would be if someone claims they made art they are selling without AI but did, like saying you handmade a ceramic sculpture when you really just put your name on the bottom of it, and the rest was already done and fired before it got to you. I think that's already starting to go on with music. If you're not doing it for a living or some kind of income, not a big deal.
I don't have the answers
Here's the thing: throughout history, humans have always invented things that never existed before. Think about the first computer, or the microwave - at some point, these were completely new ideas. Even popular books like The Hunger Games - sure, there were similar stories before and after, but Collins created something unique that resonated with people. It's not about copying; it's about building on ideas and creating something new. This makes me wonder: if two people come up with the same concept and execute it identically, without knowing about each other, does it matter who gets popular first? With AI, we often don't know where ideas are coming from. They might not be based on anything pre-existing - sometimes it's just a new thought or something we create out of necessity. So when we use AI, are we really saying it's not our own skill? I'm starting to think the skill is more about the intention and the mind behind what we're trying to create, rather than the actual product. It sounds backwards, but hear me out. Take singing - if I'm born with a great voice and someone else trains hard to get there, who's more skilled? Or think about Bionic eyes - wouldn't it be amazing if we could create artificial eyes, maybe even using animal DNA to give humans enhanced vision? That's a mix of natural and artificial that could change lives. I'm guessing that creating a singing voice from scratch, probably wouldn't be the best idea, right? I mean, it wouldn't be mine, at least, not by birth. Or, what about musicians that only create digital beats, but can't actually play an instrument? Where do they fall on the scale?
I wonder if there's a way to make AI feel more natural. I'd love to be able to create something visual, even though that's not possible for me right now. But should we always have to disclose when we use AI? There's so much judgment around it. If I could hide my blindness, I probably would most of the time to avoid complications. Maybe what people are really annoyed about isn't the use of AI itself, but how it's used. If someone just inputs a prompt and expects AI to do all the work, that's one thing. But if you do your own research, collect data, outline your points, and then use AI to help generate content that you then edit - isn't that just using a tool effectively? I think the key is that you're the one inputting the raw data and ideas. The problem comes when people rely on AI to do all the thinking and work for them. It's about using AI as a tool to enhance our own creativity and skills, not replace them. In the end, I feel like disclosure should be a courtesy, not a requirement. Just like I don't always disclose my blindness, sometimes it might be easier not to mention AI use. What matters is the quality of the work and the intention behind it. I don't have all the answers, but I think we need to keep talking about this. How can we embrace the benefits of AI while still valuing human creativity and effort? How do we strike that balance? I'd love to hear your thoughts on all this because honestly, I'm still figuring out how I feel about it all.
Are we talking about a situation like a bakery claiming to use all-natural ingredients, but actually just using store-bought cake mix and slapping some frosting on it? If that's the kind of dishonesty we're discussing, then yeah, I can see why that's problematic. But I'm still not sure it always makes sense in the context of AI. If a person is getting the product they expect, does it really matter how it was made? I mean, for professional work or jobs, that's one thing. But for personal use? That seems different. I know this kind of thing happens in business all the time. People sell artificial goods as real, or buy something cheap and mark it up massively. It's not ethical, but it's widespread. The tricky part is, I don't know what the right answer is. It seems to depend on the intention behind it. If everyone could use AI to get work done in a similar way, we wouldn't still need AI designers, right? I get the core concept of being against dishonesty for dishonesty's sake. That's not cool. But it's hard to draw a clear line. It's like if someone says they'll build you a computer - does it matter if they 3D print the parts or source and assemble them traditionally? I guess what I'm saying is, while I understand the idea behind wanting authenticity, I'm not sure if or when AI use should always be disclosed. It's a complex issue without easy answers. For example, if I manage to master using an artificial intelligence program to create pictures, videos, or writing scripts, and somebody else wants that service, should I not be able to sell it to them? If it was as easy as everyone using this product to get the results they wanted, then they wouldn't be calling for me, right? Of course, this would be, with the intention, that the customer knows that the product has been generated by artificial intelligence, based on their specifications. Does this only apply to digital products? What if I use a program to generate a design of a bag, and then, using that design, I create this product, and start selling it on the market? Should I disclose that the design, even though it was my output, was initially Created using artificial intelligence, before I created the physical product? Seriously, I want to learn. I genuinely want to understand it.
Dishonesty
Yes, that's what I'm talking about at the moment, but I really didn't mean there should be a legal requirement to say it's AI-created. Just that it bothered me that someone might claim they did it all on their own, particularly if there's money changing hands.
AI has the potential to mass produce unique, individual pieces of art in the future that could fool people. That one might need some kind of AI label, but I'm not too worried... yet.
I mainly use AI to proofread…
I mainly use AI to proofread before I post to forums, like this place, even though it sometimes makes my posts sound formal. That's where you need to tell it to stick closer to your original text. Describing photos, now that's a game-changer, especially when you're in a few WhatsApp groups and family start exchanging pictures. A lot of the other stuff I don't use, or find gimmicky in its current stage, but that will all change eventually.
Oh and I did use AI for this post, mainly to proofread.
You know...
When I posted similar views here about the current state of AI, I got nothing but harassment.
Hope your attempt goes smoother, Lottie.
We'll see Brian
What helps is nearly always being proved right! But even I get tired of idiots, so I might just focus on my life and just comment on what other people have to say - seem like that is the safer thing to do.
BTW, the issues in edit fields are gone?
Or so it seems today.
Not true
No Lottie, your posts are great and get people talking. We can never please everyone but if one person gets something out of them then it is worth carrying on. Keep up the good work.
Something or another
Glad you're sticking around, or that it wasn't your last post, @Charlotte Joanne.
I think a lot of us are just trying to get through the daily existence, and what ever we can get a hold of to get by, AI, OCR, sticks, rocks, larger pieces of cardboard, that's what we're going to use. I used the compass on my phone to be sure I was walking the direction I thought the other day because pesky clouds were blocking the sun, at least I hope it was a cloud...
I'll alwys comment
Not sure if I'll waste time on new posts though - even with AI it takes time and effort!
OB you remind me of a funny story
About a blind man who told a passer by he was "waiting for the aeroplane to go by," before he crossed the road. He obviously meant, so it was quiet, but the member of the public was bemused!
About disclosing
To use any commercially available AI, you must agree to their terms and conditions, which often dictate the circumstances governing disclosure of use. If you post AI content to a website, such as AppleVis, then you have a second set of terms and conditions to comply with. My advice: read those terms and conditions, and do your best to comply.
I'm a fiction writer. And in this field, there is an enormous outcry, mostly by successful published authors, claiming that AIs are generating content based on copyrighted work. On one hand, their beef is legit—corporations should not be allowed to scrape copyrighted content to create services that they sell for profit. On the other hand, the complaint of these published authors seems a bit hypocritical. They don’t seem to have a problem with humans reading their stories, only AI. And it’s almost a certainty that the authors who complain the loudest attained their success only after reading the novels of other fiction writers. Winter Rose already made that point. (Should science fiction visions come true and we come to recognize AI as conscious entities with rights, this is one of many legal issues that will need to be addressed.)
Most AI terms and conditions I’ve seen require disclosure only when cutting and pasting AI-generated text. If you use an AI only for research or idea generation, you’re generally not required to disclose.
Pasting and modifying AI content is a gray area, which I avoid by never doing it in any published work, not even posts to websites. But, in situations where I need to create a more-or-less form letter, such as a business or government communication, I have no problem with generating the base content with AI, then heavily modifying it. I don’t disclose I’m using an AI for that. The recipient certainly doesn’t care.
As for the AppleVis text field issue, it’s still broke. It’s a problem with Wix CMS text fields, which use a hyphen to break words at the end of a line. It confuses the crap out of VoiceOver. It’s easy to do a web search and find literally dozens of presumably sighted users complaining about this mis-feature and asking for a way to turn it off.
The text-box thing
It turns out I was using JAWS earlier, when I didn't experience this issue. So, that must be why, it is certainly back now, wiht NVDA.
Why did the airplane cross the road?
Because there was a blind guy standing on the other side...
I'm not an insider to the fiction publishing scene, and don't know how AI is currently being used. It seems, as an outsider, that a lot of action-thriller authors are almost copying each other. Kind of like one puts out a book with a theme and story-line, then everyone else does something fairly close. That goes on a lot in art, and there's some kind of ten-percent-changed rule, and so on.
The thing about copying someone else's art, is it doesn't come with a back story, like the necklace charm I made the other day partly from an aluminum can's pull-tab-ring--the kind that were fazed out back in the 70s--that I found in a carrot. It grew around it! AI probably wouldn't 3D print something like that and come up with the backstory on its own...
On the other hand, using AI to create art could become part of the backstory, Impossible, AI-generated shapes that lead to madness if viewed too long and such.
There is so much fear, uncertainty, doubt and outright stupidity
It's almost like some sort of moral panic! I read a book a few weeks ago, part of the plot was a super-villain who used ChatGPT to rewrite emailed ransom demands so it was hard to know there identity! Did the author 'disclose' there use of ChatGPT? Who knows, but the character used it in the book, so I guess they did.
I am commenting on AppleVis, but I am no longer contributing new forum posts due to the continuing sniping, innuendo and outright harassment.
I ask all of you to take a moment think about the last eighteen months and ask yourself: has anyone on this site contributed more new, interesting and innovative content about AI than I have? Has anyone asked better questions? Gotten you to think more deeply about what is happening and wat it is going to mean for us?
If anyone is brave enough to claim they have done more, you are free to make your case.
But for me, I’m happy to comment on things, I’m still blind, still having to use Assistive Technology, but I don’t care what any of you think.
Online bullies
I’m really sorry to hear about what you’re going through. I want to be cautious about stepping into this situation because it can be really dicey. Sometimes, people come online and make claims about being harassed or bullied, and it’s hard to know what’s happening. Not to suggest that this is what you are doing, of course, but, you can't be too careful these days. There are too many people who will come online, and tell you that people are harassing them, when that's not happening at all. I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon to quickly defend someone when I don't even know if anything is happening at all. Critical thinking is important. Sounds like being blind hasn't been easy for you. That said, I genuinely hope I’ve never come across as mean or unkind in my comments because that’s never my intention. If I’ve said something that hurt or made you uncomfortable, please feel free to reach out to me, and we can discuss it. I think it’s important to recognize that, sometimes, when people criticize your content, they’re not necessarily criticizing you as a person. It can be tough to distinguish between the two, especially over text where tone is easily lost. It’s not that people lack empathy; far from it, they’re often miles away and don’t know you personally. This disconnect can make it easy for others to forget that the person on the other side of the screen is a human being, just like them. While we’re all part of the blind and visually impaired community, it seems that, at times, our experiences can lead to emotional negligence among ourselves. In that regard, I do believe we need to do better. If you find that someone is bothering you privately over email, blocking them is a perfectly valid option. There’s no need to engage with negativity. I’m not trying to start any drama here, but I think it’s essential to acknowledge that, sometimes, we take our frustrations out on each other. The compounded daily challenges we face can lead us to be apathetic toward others, often without realizing it. If people on this website know they’re reaching out just to criticize you or harass you, they need to stop. All right, fine, you want to disagree with me, that's fair, but you don't need to come to my email in order to do this. That's what I don't agree with. When people start reaching out privately to start problems, that's where I draw the line. Seriously, you don't need to go to somebody else's inbox, that's like showing up at their house, just to tell them why they are wrong, or your opinions on something that they said. You don't always have to put everything you think or feel out there. That's literally it. And, this is often done, supposedly, with the intention that they're helping to build your character, or that they're passing on some well-rounded advice, that you, 100%, absolutely, need to hear. It's not about right or wrong, it's about the audacity, and the disrespect.
Come on, guys, stop being nasty, just for the sake of it. It's not productive or constructive. We're all dealing with enough already. We can’t control what others do, but we can set boundaries. Also, let’s be clear: nobody is afraid of you, your friends, your family, your dog, the dust bunnies under your bed, or the therapist that you probably have on speed dial. People aren’t indifferent to your situation, but they might be caught up in their own lives, dealing with their own challenges. We all have our battles—what to eat for breakfast, health issues, fixing a leaky roof—so when people comment, it’s often more about their perspectives than a personal attack on you. It’s entirely natural to be hurt by something on the Internet. Whether or not someone’s intention is to hurt you, people will say things that genuinely cut you to the core. I often remind myself that these people don’t know me, don’t care about me—not really—and likely never will. If a comment online hurts you, it can help to take a step back. It’s easy to get caught up in it all, but we need to remember that our well-being comes first. Whether it’s stepping away to read a book, going for a walk, practicing yoga, or even just watching cat videos, finding ways to disconnect from the internet can really help. My point is, regardless of who is right or wrong in the situation, get out of your head, and get some sunshine.
At the end of the day, we’re all dealing with our own challenges, and while it’s perfectly valid to express your opinion, it’s essential to move on if it leads to negativity. Let’s all try to create a supportive environment because we’re all in this together. If people can’t be kind, then the least they can do is not be unkind.
Caring.
You know, it's so interesting how much energy we waist on people and what they think about us. At the end of the day we're just people on the internet. The older I've gotten the less I've cared about what others think.
The AI posts mostly aren't my kind of thing but I will admit that if it wasn't for you i'd not know about the glide and what a great piece of kit that's going to be once it's out in the world.
For Charlotte
I genuinely thought you might enjoy this article. It is about restoring vision loss from the Washington Post, here in the States. It is, of course, still being researched , but it sounds promising.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/bionic-eyes-blind-restore-vision/
re: OB you remind me of a funny story
Hello,
I apologize for the off-topic, but is there a full version of that funny story, or more details about it?
Smear campaign
It seems like some sort of media smear campaign. I really don't get how a criminal using an AI to write his emails is any different from scrambling the words around or using a thesaurus. Yet people would look at a novel like that, nod, and feel that their fears of AI are somehow justified. I have several sighted friends who tell me they are very worried about AI. Then I tell them how I use it pretty much every day to make blind life easier. They're shocked and surprised, as if it never occurred to them that AI might have an actual use.
Bullying
I see some occasional rudeness, which I chalk up to the nature of text-based communications. It's very easy to read bad intent where none exists in the absence of body language and tone of voice. I have never seen any bullying or outright personal attacks. Charlotte, if you are experiencing harassment, i encourage you to use the contact form. AppleVis and Be My eyes have the resources to take the appropriate action.
No bullies around here
Yeah, exactly. If someone is harassing you, or bullying you, definitely bring it to the attention of the team. Not sure how much they're able to do, especially if it's happening over email off-line, but you never know. Sometimes, even as a group we need to remember not to step on others, intentionally or not. I definitely don't want to say it's not happening though, because maybe there is some context, hidden between the lines, of what is posted, that I'm not noticing. Also, I think that when we talk about caring, it's not necessarily caring about what others are saying about you, but I think that, if somebody is sharing their opinions with you, whether positive or negative, and it's completely unwanted, then, it can totally get to you. Remember the email that David sent out during the closure? This was a part of the reason that David decided to leave. Some people can be awful, and, yes, with intention. I'm not the other person. I don't know what they're thinking. We're all human, and we can't turn off our feelings or emotions, even if it's perceived as irrational by others.
Please Report any Potential Issues
Just a reminder: AppleVis has a strict no-tolerance policy for bullying or harassment. We take this seriously, so if you or anyone else notices any concerning comments, please contact the team or me immediately. Even though I haven't seen anything on this post to suggest it's happening, it could be occurring elsewhere or privately. If you spot something, please let us know.