MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

To make sure the data that users generate is accurate, Sasha Blair-Goldensohn is reaching back into his AI tool bag.

“AI can be really helpful and in ways that you wouldn’t maybe expect around accessibility, but not always in a gee-whiz, flashy technology way,” he says.

“For instance, we use machine learning to resolve ambiguities based on data.

Like, if there’s a bar where users gave four ‘yeses’ saying it’s accessible, one ‘no,’ but the merchant reports ‘yes,’ what should we do? In order to referee these things in a principled way, we use [machine learning] to determine the probability based on past examples, and if the next three votes are all ‘yes’ — mark it accessible.”

MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

Google Maps relies on its users to provide data on everything from business features to route timing and navigation details.

Ahead of this summer’s Paralympics, Sasha Blair-Goldensohn’s team has been meeting with Paralympic athletes to educate them about the accessibility features on Google Maps and document their experiences using the service in a foreign country.

He says his team wants “to tell the story of Maps and how it makes it easier to get around Paris.

We’re not only talking the track, velodrome and Paralympic venues, but how to get around the city’s bistros, nightclubs, museums.

We want to look at tools for how you plan a visit to an unfamiliar city. We will document it and share it back with Google.”

According to Blair-Goldensohn, the future of accessible mapping will have more details on routes.

Just like Google Maps can toggle to map the journey via car, public transit or on foot, it is evolving to include routes that are 100% wheelchair accessible.

MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

Sasha Blair-Goldensohn praises his employer’s commitment to accessibility.

He said the tech giant’s Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Week has expanded to a whole month.

In 2022, Google opened its Accessibility Discovery Centre in London.

Headed by Chrsitopher Patnoe, the facility is a space where Google’s engineers and developers work alongside people with disabilities to research, develop and test assistive technologies and make existing products more accessible.

It’s also become a hub for other companies and organizations learning how to make their products and services accessible.

Patnoe says 2,700 visitors from outside Google have toured the facility and discussed inclusive design, and Google plans to open six more accessibility centers across Europe.

MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

Working in a place that values inclusion has been a gratifying experience for Sasha Blair-Goldensohn.

He says that during ADI month, Google CEO Sundar Pachai sent out a video companywide, and the accessible-places feature on Maps was the first thing Pachai mentioned.

“I thought, ‘That’s my project, that’s our team — we did it,’ and I was so proud and grateful to be part of something that has input from people around the world,” says Blair-Goldensohn.

ALL DRIVERLESS VEHICLE TRANSIT PROTOTYPES MUST ACCOMMODATE WHEELCHAIR USERS

AN OPEN LETTER TO USDOT SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG.

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

Why doesn't USDOT (and all other relevant agencies) require all robotaxis/driverless rideshare vehicles to accommodate power wheelchair users? Every prototype I've seen is a sedan.

This is as bad as granting highway dollars to an agency the will not allow people of color to drive on its roads.

It is discriminatory to allow autonomous fleet vehicle firms to roll out "innovative" transportation that excludes people with disabilities.

Imagine an airline that says it will ban women for a decade -- until it figures out how to accommodate them on their new planes.

I have great respect for what USDOT, under your leadership, is being done for air travel for people with disabilities.

I think you are an excellent people-first, inclusionary leader.

But I think the ball is being dropped on ableist transit alternatives.

https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2023/12/02/robotaxis-wont-get-us-there-so-lets-stop-being-used-to-sell-a-future-that-doesnt-serve-us/

MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

 SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

Christopher Patnoe, Google's head of accessibility and disability inclusion in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, appreciates his colleague Sasha Blair-Goldensohn’s genuine commitment.

“Sasha’s desire to change the world comes from his own frustration and a desire to fix it. It’s all about the work to make change, with no pretense,” Patnoe says.

“He’s frustrated that [progress toward inclusion] is too slow — but he never gives up.”

MEET THE WHEELCHAIR USER MAKING GOOGLE MAPS MORE ACCESSIBLE

SASHA BLAIR-GOLDENSOHN

Ever since, Sasha Blair-Goldensohn has been expanding the boundaries of accessibility information displayed in Google Maps.

In 2017, Google released an update allowing users to detail accessibility features of locations they visit.

Maps now shows whether a destination has a wheelchair-accessible entrance, indicated by the ♿ icon, as well as accessible seating, restrooms and parking.

In 2018, Blair-Goldensohn spearheaded an effort to show wheelchair-accessible routes on public transit.