The Promise and Pitfalls of Inclusive Design and Disability Technology
A History & Theory of New Media event
with Jutta Treviranus, Director & Professor, Inclusive Design Research Centre, Ontario College of Art & Design University, and Liz Henry, Executive Director, Grassroots Open Assistive Tech
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Monday, October 19, 2026
5:00 — 6:30 PM
Eugene Jarvis Auditorium,
Grimes Engineering Center
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Inclusive design and disability technology — whether it uses AI or not — aims to make life easier and more fulfilling for people with disabilities. In this moderated discussion, two experts share their perspectives on the possibilities and perils of contemporary advances in the field of assistive technology.
Jutta Treviranus, Director and Professor at the Inclusive Design Research Centre, within the Ontario College of Art & Design University, will speak to the ever-expanding role of AI. As a statistical replicator feeding on available data, AI inexorably favours the average, popular, or profitable. Disability means you are an outlier in population data and the things you need have no economies of scale. The only common data characteristic of disability is sufficient distance from the majority that common things are not designed for you. While AI is uncannily good at helping achieve the average, AI eliminates difference. When decisions are made about people who are not average, this can lead to mechanized digital eugenics. This has grave implications for disabled people and minority communities but also for human survival.
Liz Henry, Executive Director of Grassroots Open Assistive Tech, will speak to the notion of designing ourselves as “sustainable cyborgs.” There exist many efforts to create assistive technology, often with fabulous cutting-edge engineering. People also love to create custom tools and materials for a particular disabled person, at hackathons and so on. What does designing for repairability and maintenance mean? What’s the experience like for someone to get their wheelchair repaired? What happens to the miracle devices when they break? And how can we save ourselves from the mountains of garbage and e-waste that overwhelm us? Henry will discuss repairability, design, and the promises of open source and open culture!
About Jutta Treviranus
Jutta Treviranus is the Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and professor in the faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto.
Treviranus established the IDRC in 1993 as the nexus of a growing global community that proactively works to ensure that our digitally transformed society is co-designed inclusively. She founded an innovative graduate program in Inclusive Design at OCADU. Jutta has led the development of international, national, and regional policies and regulations related to digital inclusion. Jutta has coordinated many research networks with diverse communities to address the risks and opportunities of emerging systems. Dr. Treviranus was recognized for her work in AI by Women in AI as well as by Women in AI Ethics. She is the chair of the Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence standards committee for the Accessible Canada Act.
About Liz Henry
Liz Henry is the Executive Director of Grassroots Open Assistive Tech (GOAT), a nonprofit to support maintainable assistive and mobility tech for all. Liz is a hacker and makerspace enthusiast, and is the founder of GOAT Space in Oakland, which is the nonprofit’s free, open community workshop for assistive technology repair, with experience from long term contribution to communities like Noisebridge and Double Union in San Francisco. They are a Fellow at UC Berkeley through the Disabliity Lab and a partner with the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences (CREATE) at University of Washington on the a11yhood.org project. With a background in open source software at Mozilla and other tech companies, Liz is also a grantmaker for progressive tech funds, including Disability Inclusion Fund x Tech at Borealis Philanthropy, and an advisor for San Francisco’s Disability Cultural Center.
About History & Theory of New Media Lecture Series
The History & Theory of New Media Lecture Series brings to campus leading humanities scholars working on issues of media transition and technological emergence. The series promotes new, interdisciplinary approaches to questions about the uses, meanings, causes, and effects of rapid or dramatic shifts in techno-infrastructure, information management, and forms of mediated expression. Presented by BCNM, these events are free and open to the public.
Accessibility
BCNM events are free and open to the public. This event will be held in-person, on the UC Berkeley campus. We strive to meet all access and accommodation needs. Please contact (raphaelcohen [at] berkeley.edu) with requests or questions.
BCNM is proud to make conversations with leading scholars, artists, and technologists freely available to the public. Please help us continue this tradition by making a tax-deductible donation today. If you are in the position to support the program, we suggest $5 per event, or $100 a year.