[NFBC-Info] Fwd: Sight Tech Global 2022!

[Amy Jine]

Hi Everyone,



Sight Tech Global is just around the corner! This is a wonderful free
conference focused on technology and the advances supporting people with
blindness. Please share with anyone who is interested in technology, there
is lots to learn for all! More information and registration links are
below.



*Sight Tech Global 2022 *

*Ned Desmond <https://techcrunch.com/author/ned-desmond/>*@neddesmond
<https://twitter.com/neddesmond>



[image: Sight Tech Global]

*Alt Text:  Sight Tech Global logo above*

As we prepare for the third annual Sight Tech Global
<https://sighttechglobal.com/> *(December 7-8, free & virtual, **register
here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeq0SggxZ4_ciKI0CkUFSHEyCadQR2vb2JfctwNQjltCI0OIw/viewform>*
*),* a technology event that tracks the advances in technology supporting
people who live with blindness, two big shifts are front and center.

First, new digital experiences, notably virtual reality, are testing known
approaches to accessibility. There are no white canes or screen readers
(yet!) in the metaverse. That digital realm is on the verge of going
mainstream both for consumers and enterprises so quickly that accessibility
could easily become an afterthought, as it was at the start of the PV era.

At Sight Tech Global, we will hear from the people working to ensure that
the metaverse is open to all. The event is free and virtual!

Second, the technology platforms underpinning so many of the breakthroughs
in assistive and access tech — the tools that help blind and low vision
people navigate the world — are advancing fast and enabling better, cheaper
devices. Not long ago, AI-powered computer vision systems were costly
marvels of miniaturized cameras, GPUs and batteries, but faster networks,
cloud services and more powerful mobile phones are changing everything,
especially the cost.

The old debate in access tech was which would prevail — universal
technology platforms such as mobile phones with built-in accessibility
features, or purpose-built devices specifically for people who need vision
assistance. The emerging formula is not one or the other but both, in a
winning combination.

At Sight Tech Global, we will hear from the technologists applying the new
approaches to next generation devices. Register today
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeq0SggxZ4_ciKI0CkUFSHEyCadQR2vb2JfctwNQjltCI0OIw/viewform>
.

And underlying so much of these discussions is the evolution of AI itself,
which is a critical technology across the spectrum of blind tech. The
current “deep learning” form of AI continues to deliver striking results in
forms such as the natural language GPT3 <https://openai.com/api/> or many
computer vision AIs. But there is growing dissatisfaction with the ability
of those powerful pattern-recognition systems to apply something more like
human reasoning to issues large and small, not to mention filter out the
bias and problems when AIs are unleashed.

At Sight Tech Global, we will hear from top AI technologists grappling with
those topics and more.

The event agenda will be ready in a month, but we hope you will register
today
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeq0SggxZ4_ciKI0CkUFSHEyCadQR2vb2JfctwNQjltCI0OIw/viewform>
. The event is free and virtual.

And one new twist in 2022: Sight Tech Global is adding an “In Person” event
on December 9 in San Jose, California. The event is aimed at technologists,
product leaders and designers working in access tech. The event is limited
to 150 people and by invitation only. Most of the programming will be
workshops driven by attendees.
Here’s where you can request an invitation or nominate someone.
<https://forms.gle/wBM4MgER3swwaTjq8>

Sight Tech Global is a production of the nonprofit Vista Center for the
Blind and Visually Impaired <https://vistacenter.org/>. We’re grateful to
current sponsors APH, Amazon, Google, Fable, Humanware, LinkedIn, Microsoft
and Waymo. If you would like to sponsor the event, please contact us
<https://sighttechglobal.com/sponsorship-opportunities/>. All sponsorship
revenues go to the nonprofit Vista Center, which has been serving the
Silicon Valley area for 75 years.





Best regards,



*Amy Jine, Youth Services Associate Manager*

*Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired*

ajine at vistacenter.org

650.858.0202 x183

Website <http://www.vistacenter.org/> - Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/vistacenterfortheblind/> - LinkedIn
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/vista-center-for-the-blind-&-visually-impaired/>
- YouTube
<https://www.youtube.com/c/VistaCenterfortheBlindandVisuallyImpaired> -
Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/vistacenterblind/>



Alt Text: Blue logo image in the shape of a "V" followed by the words VISTA
CENTER.



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