AI and Blindness | Shawn Keen, AI for the Blind

The thumbnail shows Shawn Keen from the chest up, smiling broadly with a wide, genuine smile. He has short salt-and-pepper hair and is wearing black-framed glasses with a small white assistive device mounted on the top of the frame. He is dressed in a dark navy button-up shirt. The background is softly blurred with natural light coming through large windows. Bold yellow text in the lower portion of the image reads: This Changes Everything. The eleVIVO logo appears in the top right corner inside a teal circle.Artificial intelligence is giving blind and low-vision people new toolsfor independence, creativity, and employment — and the people leading thatchange are blind themselves.In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Michelle sits down withShawn Keen, founder of AI for the Blind — a community of more than 15,000 blindand low-vision people using AI tools to create, learn, and live with greaterfreedom. Shawn shares how AI for blind users is different from traditionalassistive technology, why learning to prompt AI may be the most important skilla blind person can develop, and why this moment may be as significant as theinvention of Braille. Together, they explore what blind individuals, agencies,and nonprofits need to understand right now.This episode also touches on faith, recovery after stroke, the culture ofa positive creative community, and what Shawn wants people navigating visionloss — and those who serve them — to know.In this episode: Thriving with Vision Loss is an eleVIVO original series. We begin eachepisode with a brief visual description so blind and low-vision listeners canfully share the experience.If this conversation resonated with you, please leave a review on ApplePodcasts or Spotify. It helps more people navigating vision loss find thisshow.Support and Free Trial If you or someone you care about is navigatingvision loss, eleVIVO offers a free six-month individual trial for the first1000 people who sign up. elevivo.com/#/freetrialLearn more about eleVIVO: elevivo.comWould you like to be featured on an upcoming episode of Thriving withVision Loss? Email [email protected] from Shawn Keen AI for the Blind: aiftb.com YouTube — PrayedPrompted: youtube.com/@PrayedPrompted The HUMM Method — turning the music inyour head into a real song you can hear: thehummmethod.comAccessibility Note Special thanks to Scott Joffre, The Blind Striker, foraccessibility insights that helped shape this episode. The Blind Striker onYouTube: youtube.com/@theblindstrikerMusic Credit Ending music: Circles by Classless Act. Used withpermission. Deep thanks to our friends in Classless Act for generously sharingtheir music and supporting Thriving with Vision Loss and the blindnesscommunity. Learn more about Classless Act: Instagram:instagram.com/classlessact YouTube: youtube.com/@classlessactarmyThis conversation reflects personal experience and is not intended asmedical or legal advice.