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Inspiration porn
Just in time for #GAAD, and in the week where we saw OpenAI share a video of a new feature that integrates the GPT-4o model with BeMyEyes to assist blind people, I want to share the definition of “inspiration porn”:
Inspiration porn is the portrayal of people with disabilities (…) as being inspirational to able-bodied people (…), on the basis of their life circumstances.
(From: Inspiration porn - Wikipedia)
The demo itself was impressive, but I couldn't not notice that OpenAI shared it without captions. It could be that they just forgot. But they clearly didn't forget to upload record, edit, upload and promote the video, so accessibility must have been lower or no priority. And that's likely to be a systemic issue, a bit like some of the other announcement videos that portray assistants as somewhat flirty women.
The term “inspiration porn” has been used in various places, I found the concept particularly well explained in “Against Technoableism” by Ashley Shew and “Handicap” by Anaïs Van Ertvelde. I believe it was originally coined by comedian and journalist Stella Young, see also her TED Talk.