• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 4, 2016

Those of us blessed with eyesight have many advantages when it comes to everyday life. Searching and experiencing the Internet is one. Until now it has been challenging for those who lack functioning vision.

Humans are intelligent because they have the ability to learn. Facebook’s artificial intelligence team is teaching its technology to identify objects, so the platform can speak to the blind describing images in posts such as the emotions on people’s faces, jewelry they wore, and color of a dress, pants or shirt. The technology also provides the number of likes and comments.

In the future researchers say the technology will provide a complete description of the image, making it possible to know whether the two people in the photo are happy or sad.

Facebook developed the technology after conducting research done by Shaomei Wu and La Adamic among others at Cornell University, who found that visually impaired Facebook users engaged with the site’s functions as actively as other users with few exceptions. They posted and shared photos, but to a smaller extent than the average user. They also connected more with other screen reader users and used words related to visual impairment more frequently.

Blind users faced challenges in interacting with the site because of visual elements, complicated page structure, and scrolling feeds that are incompatible with screen readers. The desire to participate in the experience that centers on shared visual content made these challenges increasingly difficult.

So Facebook did a qualitative study of blind people who use social networks and explored their practices, challenges, strategies, and experiences through their interactions around visual content. Their motivations were similar to those of sighted people such as maintaining social relationships and expressing their identity through interactions.

To experience social media, the group sought help from trusted friends and family members, but when strategies failed and help was not available, participants had to abandon using Facebook.

The findings shed light on the significance of social interactions around visual content, but also brought up questions about perception and trust.