Oxford Annual Disability Lecture 2026: video, podcast and transcript
In early June, Sarah Lewthwaite delivered the Oxford Annual Disability Lecture (“Digital Accessibility at the Crossroads: Infrastructure, AI, and the Future We Build“) at an online and in person event at Oxford’s Life and Mind Building.
The lecture is now available as a video (including BSL, captions), podcast, and transcript with alternative formats are available via https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/2026-disability-lecture
Sarah’s talk considered that state of digital accessibility in view of new laws committing to accessibility as a foundation for digital life, and recognising that accessibility must be built into systems and infrastructure from the start. Artificial intelligence, by contrast, does not have the same settled direction. AI has the potential to build and scale accessibility, but it also risks reinforcing patterns of exclusion and creating new ones if left unchecked.
Hosted by the Disability and Neurodivergence Advisory Group and the Equality and Diversity Unit, Sarah explored contemporary answers to long-standing questions about who technology serves. How do we ensure our universities, workplaces and wider digital society are accessible to all? How do we make sure that lived experience of disability is recognised and valued in the design and development process? These questions are not new, but the scale, speed, and nature of AI demands new answers. Sarah’s talk will draw on current research into digital accessibility, accessibility education and AI. She will consider key issues, conceptual tools, and research-led routes for positive action.