Episode Description:
In this episode, Shawn Keen, co-founder of Athina AD, shares a personal story and a big accessibility idea: what if blind and low-vision people could press one key while watching a shopping video and instantly get the visual information they usually miss?
Price. Product details. Colors. Phone numbers. Websites. QR code information. Ordering instructions.
Shopping networks, product demos, cooking videos, home goods, gadgets, clothing, beauty products, and online video sales are packed with visual information. Sighted people can see it. Blind people often miss it.
Athina AD is working to change that.
Right now, Athina AD is a free testing platform that uses AI to help describe videos for blind and low-vision people. You can upload a video or paste a public YouTube link, and Athina AD will create a written video description script and narrated audio description.
It is still early. It is not perfect. But it is real, and we are building it with feedback from the blind community.
Try Athina AD:
Contact us:
Want to help?
We are always looking for talent, ideas, testers, partners, supporters, and people who care about making video more accessible. If you want to help build, test, promote, fund, advise, partner, or simply share feedback, reach out.
Email us at:
About Athina AD:
Athina AD stands for A Thoughtful Human-Inspired Narration Assistant.
AD stands for audio description.
Our tagline is simple:
Hear what others see.
Call to Action:
Visit athinaad.com, try the platform, upload a video or paste a public YouTube link, and let us know what you think.
If you believe blind and low-vision people should have better access to video, shopping, education, entertainment, and online content, we would love to hear from you.
This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
