Scheduled at 11:30 am in Matchless on Friday, November 15.
#39803Speaker(s)
- Jennifer Strickland, Senior Accessibility Human Centered Engineer, The MITRE Corporation
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Attendees will learn how best practices for ensuring no one is excluded also reduce your service’s impact on the environment. Learn about the Principles of Environmental Justice and impacts of intersectionality. By incorporating the standards outlined in the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and new Web Sustainability Guidelines, we can reduce the environmental impact of digital services.
Abstract
By 2040, the tech sector is expected to consume 14% of the world’s energy per year.
98% of the top websites are not fully accessible.
Training large language models for artificial intelligence uses more water and energy than many countries.
We need better practices to solve climate change and reduce barriers.
The National Institutes of Health outlines that, "environmental risks are not uniformly distributed across groups of people. Age, poverty, and minority status place some groups at a disproportionately high risk for environmental disease. Such groups are exposed to hazardous chemicals or conditions at levels well above those for the general populations." This pattern led to the creation of the Seventeen Principles of Environmental Justice in 1991 at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.
Combining the 17 principles with the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to revisit accepted practices in education and development for digital services. The European Union and Chile have started with regulations on digital services, whereas the United States' Justice40 initiative could be expanded to include digital services but it has yet to specify this, likely due to a lack of awareness of the existing research. The W3C Sustainable Web group seeks to provide this research and guidelines for all.
Coincidentally, the same practices that improve accessibility or the performance of digital services also reduce the environmental impact of these services. We are so focused on advancing artificial intelligence at the moment—while it uses massive amounts of energy and water, more than many countries. As we raise awareness of these quality measures to doing one's job well, that professionalism will connect our responsibility to deliver high-quality services while also improving accessibility and reducing environmental costs.
Keypoints
- Improve accessibility of services, specify progressive layers, improve experience, reduce energy usage
- Architect services progressively, begin with accessibility, and minimize resource consumption
- s governments document sustainability regulations, make the case with data to be prepared
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessible Course Design, Artificial Intelligence, Legal, Procurement, Teaching about Accessibility in Curriculum, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access
Speaker Bio(s)
Jennifer Strickland
Jennifer has 30 years of experience as researcher, strategist, designer, and engineer, across enterprise, government, and non-profits, with a dedication to equitable outcomes for everyone. Jen serves the public interest at The MITRE Corporation as an Accessibility Human-Centered Engineer supporting several U.S. federal agencies. To support local government, they volunteer with U.S. Digital Response. Jen is earning a Master’s in Public Administration student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University. They are part of the Community Leadership Committee for the Technologists for the Public Good. In 2019 they became an Invited Expert with the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, and contribute on multiple groups from Sustainable Web to CSS to APA to Positive Work Environment, and chair the Equity Community Group. If you’re looking to participate with the W3C, please reach out and Jen will help connect you. Outside of work, Jen walks with dogs a lot and dreams of getting back to surfing (water), hiking, and other adventures.