Through a technological lens, mapped with efficiency and with AI, ‘accessible’ could refer to the ease with which data, applications, and services can be accessed and used by machines, without human intervention. This could imply the absence of a ‘human-in-the-loop.’
Such a system is one that could be optimized for efficiency and that could perform tasks quickly, accurately, and reliably.
From an interface design, mapped with consequentialist ethical perspectives, an accessible AI system could suggest that users, with empowering considerations of their abilities, vulnerabilities or disabilities, could access and use the system with ease or with means nuanced to their specific needs.
It could also refer to the degree to which a product, service, or technology is available, affordable, and designed to meet the needs of all individuals, including those from marginalized or otherwise disenfranchised communities.
Degrees of accessibility implies that access could not be or be less constraint due to demographics, background, abilities, or socioeconomic status. This definition of accessibility could imply some of the following concepts which could improve due to accessibility, and that to some degree: agency, autonomy, plurality, diversity and diversification, equity, personalization, inclusivity, fairness, mindfulness, and compassion. Through such perspective this could be considered a ‘good’ system design. This could then lead one to consider concepts such as ‘ethical-by-design,’
An accessible AI system could then also be one that is transparent (the lack of transparency implies a lack of access, even if it is access to the possibility of understanding the inner workings of the AI system), and thus of concepts such as, explainable, and accountable, ensuring that the decisions made by the AI system are fair, unbiased, and aligned with ethical principles.
‘The Right of Access (GDPR)’ is one of the 8 rights of the individual user (also referred to as “data subjects”) as defined within the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is article 15 in the GDPR: “The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning him or her are being processed, and, where that is the case, access to the personal data…” and access to a number of categories of information as further defined in this article.
This policy item aims “to empower individuals and give them control over their personal data.” The 8 rights are “the right of access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure, the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability, the right to object and the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing.”
References
European Data Protection Supervisor. ( ). Rights of the Individual. Online: (an official EU website). Last retrieved on April 10, 2023 fromhttps://edps.europa.eu/data-protection/our-work/subjects/rights-individual_en
Art. 15 GDPR Right of access by the data subject: https://gdpr-info.eu/art-15-gdpr/
Page, Matthew J, David Moher, Patrick M Bossuyt, Isabelle Boutron, Tammy C Hoffmann, Cynthia D Mulrow, Larissa Shamseer, et al. “PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration: Updated Guidance and Exemplars for Reporting Systematic Reviews.” BMJ, March 29, 2021, n160. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n160
https://ethics-of-ai.mooc.fi/chapter-5/3-examples-of-human-rights