David Banes is the Head of the Advisory Board of the Equitable AI Alliance, Director of Access and Inclusion Services, and founder of Global Symbols. With a career in leading innovation in accessibility and assistive technology services in Europe and the Middle East, he also supports the development of emerging technologies and innovations. Globally, he works to facilitate the implementation of AI and assistive and accessible technologies from policy to practice, including AI for communication, mobility and control across daily life, education and the workplace. His goal is to highlight how to unlock the potential and mitigate risks in the development and deployment of AI for people with a disability
The Equitable AI Alliance is an advocacy initiative of the Zero Project, supported by The Seneca Trust, that places experts with lived experience of disability and technology at the center of influential global debates on artificial intelligence. In line with the Zero Project’s mission of creating a world with zero barriers for persons with disabilities, the Alliance’s objective is to steer decision-making on critical developments poised to fundamentally change society. Drawing on the global and cross-sectoral Zero Project Network, experts with significant experience in the development, implementation, and use of artificial intelligence champion disability-inclusive AI. Through input to conferences, online discussions, social media and by providing the Equitable AI Knowledge Hub, offering evidence-based resources for advocates, developers, and researchers, the Alliance engages public services, the business sector, and civil society to ensure disability perspectives shape AI policy and practice. Together, these efforts aim to ensure emerging AI technologies are developed and deployed in ways that are genuinely inclusive and fair, taking into account the risks and opportunities of AI products.