Call for businesses to use IT more to cater to disabled

Companies and governments in the region are being encouraged to incorporate technology in their operations to cater to members of the disabled community.

This recommendation has come from Simone Pasmore, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados-based web and application development digital marketing agency Webstylze Ltd, who told Barbados TODAY that while some businesses were progressive in incorporating greater use of technology, others remained hesitant.

She said that in order to be more inclusive and to increase business activity, companies should ensure that their websites are user-friendly for those in the differently-abled community.

“There are technologies to service the differently-abled community and we need to be finding ways that we are serving them with the same content. The content online is not readily available necessarily for those who have cognitive or visual impairments or those who are even deaf; sometimes the content is not readily accessible for them. So we can use various technologies to really enhance how we present this information and I think this is a positive shift for our communities,” Pasmore explained.

“I feel that some businesses are very progressive and on board and some are quite hesitant. I am not saying they are wrong for being hesitant; there are concerns in terms of your privacy and your intellectual property.”

However, Pasmore told Barbados TODAY that through education, companies can reduce their concerns and implement advancements in technology “ethically”, that would benefit both the organisation and those who use them.

Pointing to the ChatGPT software, a learning language artificial intelligence (AI) model, as one of the leading examples of innovation that can cater to the visually impaired and other differently-abled individuals, Pasmore said that can help local companies be more competitive.

“It is a new way that we can really level the playing field with our international counterparts and show that we have just as much talent and intellect right here in the region,” she said.

Pasmore said that beyond catering to the differently-abled, businesses now have more opportunity to use AI to streamline their operations, cut time and increase productivity.

“It is really helping us to be way more efficient. It can write our emails for us; it can create blogs for us once we give it the relevant information; you can give it a prompt and the information is right at your fingertips in five minutes.

“So really now it is up to us to use it to empower organisations and our teams to provide better ways of servicing our colleagues, our friends and our communities,” said Pasmore.

She was speaking on the sidelines of the Unleashing the Power of ChatGPT and AI for Your Business Growth on Monday at the Sandals Barbados Resort.

During the seminar, officials explored how ChatGPT and AI can revolutionise business operations, enhance customer engagement and drive innovation. (MM) ]]>