Disabilities = Profit

I am partially deaf, specifically I am what's called tone-deaf. It can differ but for me it means I hear bassier, harder sounds more clearly in my right ear, and sharper, more high-pitched sounds in my left ear. I am also dyslexic. Not severe enough to be illiterate or unable to read, but the way I describe it is my brain kind of works in auto-correct mode. I can write something, be confident I've written it perfectly, read it aloud with no problems, only to later find out that words are completely missing. The upside is it works on other people; I'm pretty good at reading misspelled words and confidently pronouncing them as the author intended.

I've come up with ways to get around the problem;

Read, reread, and re-reread

Use proofreading software (I recommend Prowriting Aid (Grammarly sucks)).

Retype everything again.

And, until recently, TTS, Text-To-Speech.

TTS has been a staple of computer functionality almost since the beginning of the digital age. Many 30+ year olds will have childish memories of playing around with an earlier microsoft TTS system, making it say things like "big willy bumholes" or "uh-oh, I pooped my pants". But for many people, either with hearing or comprehension struggles like myself, or those with more extensive hearing and literacy issues, not to mention the blind or hard-of-seeing, TTS has helped not only to proofread their own work but engage with the digital age on equal footing.

Sadly, not anymore.

With the rise of AIG Voice Synthezisers, where realistic voices can be created or mimicked (like a celebrity or a politician), reading inputting texts, there has also been a sudden shift in the intentions of why these systems were created. No more is it about accessibility, helping those with disabilities of all severities. Now it's about profit. You will be hard pressed to find a single TTS program that hasn't been paywalled.

I first noticed it on Medium.com. Their TTS program was a secret weapon for proofreading. By posting an article and then checking a draft of it, as if it was posted to be viewed by users, you could use their simple but effective TTS voices. Originally this was for the benefit of readers with reading/hearing/sight issues, but it doubled as an equally helpful tool for writers with the same needs. It was a win-win; readers are happy, writers are happy.

But a shift in policy, as well as the sudden profitability and attention for AIG work, has meant their TTS program is hidden behind a member only paywall, even if the article is not. You are now expected to pay to overcome your disability.

As if to add insult to injury, many of these TTS programs that do offer "free" services are either limited to word length/month, reading time, or else will only work a few fifty or so words at a time in a preview window (a la Speechify). The tactic is clear; privatise and concentrate a need, offer a preview to entice, and then close off.

There are older and some newer, open-source programs that do still offer free access to basic TTS programs, but in the same way charities are the only reason more people don't starve in the streets. For a tech breakthrough being heralded as this great equalizer, breaking through the gates that kept people from pursuing careers in the arts, humanities, coding, or other skilled fields, it seems like for-profit TTS AIGs are indicative of a larger trend.

AI is already being used to commit fraud and cheat in art, photography, and writing competitions. It's being used to scam people out of millions around the world by imitating loved ones in distress or celebrities to con them out of their money. The mere thought of AI "pRomPt eNGinEErs" trying to have it both ways when it comes to copyright protection (they can data scour the entire internet freely but their precious results must be protected) should be a warning of what's the come.

This tech is exceptionally new and exciting and I don't doubt it will help us do amazing things. But it's so depressing that before we've figured out how, why, and when to even use it, we're trying to uncode how to profit from it. People have become so money-hungry that even something as free and basic as TTS has become a gold mine for people to close off and strip for all it's worth, damning those with no choice but to pay up or else to search for a lower quality alternative, costing them time, research, and mental concentration. Either way, overnight, people with even minor disabilities have been inconvenienced in the name of profit.

#HI