This morning I had turned on the TV so I could hear my morning shows Hunter and TJ max while I was working. Before I could get back to my desk to work something caught my attention when I wasn’t looking for it.

That happened to me this morning. I was sitting with my coffee, and instead of leaving the television on in the background, I actually sat down to drink my coffee and a commercial came on about ChatGPT. Normally, I don’t pay much attention to commercials. Most of the time they don’t pertain to me, and honestly, I’d rather be doing something else.

But this one made me stop. It showed a person with a disability using ChatGPT to help navigate everyday situations. And suddenly I started thinking about something I had never really thought about before. Could ChatGPT open new doors for people with disabilities?

When most of us think about ChatGPT, we probably think about asking questions, writing something, finding information, brainstorming, or getting help with everyday tasks. I use ChatGPT every day for my work.

But I had never really stopped to think about how something like this might help someone who has difficulty seeing, moving around, reading, or doing certain everyday things independently. The commercial showed a man using ChatGPT to help him cross a street. It showed him using it to understand what was on his plate and to get help with a restaurant menu. And I thought about my own family.

My brother has trouble seeing and he is almost completely blind. That got me thinking about all the little things that most of us do without giving them a second thought. Could something like ChatGPT help someone figure out what is sitting in front of them?

Could it describe something they are looking at? Could it help them understand a menu? Could it help them figure out what is on their plate? Could it help them identify something around the house? Coud it give them more independence?

Even something as simple as knowing whether the dishes in the dishwasher are clean could make a difference. Those may sound like little things. But when you have to depend on someone else for little things all day long, they don’t necessarily feel little.

What About Going for a Walk? This one really made me think. Sometimes my brother spends a lot of time sitting on the couch. What if technology could help someone feel a little more comfortable about getting up and going for a walk?

What if they could have help understanding what was around them? What if they could ask questions along the way? I’m not saying technology replaces another person. And I’m certainly not saying someone should go out alone in a situation that isn’t safe.

I’m thinking about something different. I’m thinking about having another tool available. Sometimes having another tool is enough to make a person feel a little more confident. For my brother even watching television can be difficult

That is when something else crossed my mind. My brother sometimes sits very close to the television and still has trouble seeing what is happening. Could technology help describe something happening on the screen?

Could it help explain something he can’t quite make out? Again, I don’t know all the answers. That’s part of why this commercial stayed with me. It made me start asking questions I hadn’t thought to ask before. I think sometimes we focus so much on helping someone that we forget how important independence can be.

There is a difference between helping someone because they need help and giving someone a tool that allows them to do something themselves. Being able to do something yourself feels different. It can give you confidence. It can give you dignity. And sometimes it can simply give you a little peace of mind. That’s the part that really stayed with me.

As much as people hate admitting the use ChatGOT I will admive I’ve been using ChatGPT for my own work for quite a while. I ask questions. I brainstorm. I work on articles. I use it to help me organize my thoughts.

But I had never thought about it as an accessibility tool. And I imagine I’m not the only person who hasn’t. There are people who are hesitant about artificial intelligence. There are people who don’t trust it. There are people who worry about what it means for the future.

Those are conversations worth having. But there are also people who may be able to use technology like this to make everyday life a little easier. Maybe we should be talking about that, too especially with the people we love.

I also started thinking about the families and caregivers who help loved ones every single day. Like Grandma Sherry used to do. Sometimes they’re answering questions, reading things, describing things, finding things, explaining things, and helping with tasks that most of us do automatically.

That can be a lot. If technology can safely handle some of those everyday questions or provide another way for someone to access information, maybe it could give both people a little breathing room. Not because the family doesn’t want to help. But because everyone deserves a chance to do what they can for themselves.

I want to be clear about something. I’m not writing this as an accessibility expert. I’m writing it because I saw something on television that made me stop and think. I had been looking at ChatGPT as a tool I use for my work.

That commercial made me look at it differently. It made me wonder what else might be possible. Could ChatGPT help someone with vision loss understand what is around them? Could it help someone read a menu?

Could it describe an object? Could it help someone understand information they might otherwise struggle to access? Could it become one more tool that helps someone feel a little more independent? I don’t have all the answers yet. But I think those are questions worth asking.

Technology doesn’t have to solve everything to be useful. Sometimes helping with one little thing is enough. Maybe it’s reading something someone can’t see. Maybe it’s explaining something they can’t make out. Maybe it’s answering a question without having to wait for someone else.Maybe it’s helping someone feel comfortable enough to try something they haven’t tried before.

And maybe, for someone who has been depending on others for a long time, that little bit of independence can mean more than we realize. That’s what I took away from a commercial I almost ignored.

I wasn’t looking for an article idea this morning. I was just sitting with my coffee. But now I’m wondering: Could ChatGPT open new doors for people with disabilities? Maybe for some people, the answer could be yes. And maybe the most important thing is that we start thinking about the possibilities.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed

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✝️ Glenda • 🐸 David • 🎮 Charlie • 🦋 Suzanne