# More Than Just Access: Generative AI as Communication Intermediary for Blind and Low-Vision Users

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.15696 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.15696/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 40 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Sep 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Closing the AI Accountability Gap: Defining an End-to-End Framework for Internal Algorithmic Auditing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.00973/) (2020)
- [Questioning the AI: Informing Design Practices for Explainable AI User Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.02478/) (2020)
- [Trustworthy AI: From Principles to Practices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.01167/) (2021)
- [The Values Encoded in Machine Learning Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.15590/) (2021)
- [Take It, Leave It, or Fix It: Measuring Productivity and Trust in Human-AI Collaboration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.18498/) (2024)
- [Beyond Visual Perception: Insights from Smartphone Interaction of Visually Impaired Users with Large Multimodal Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.16098/) (2025)
- ["Before, I Asked My Mom, Now I Ask ChatGPT": Visual Privacy Management with Generative AI for Blind and Low-Vision People](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.00286/) (2025)
- [Understanding Attitudes and Trust of Generative AI Chatbots for Social Anxiety Support](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.15628/) (2025)
- [AI Trust Reshaping Administrative Burdens: Understanding Trust-Burden Dynamics in LLM-Assisted Benefits Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.22418/) (2025)
- [Understanding How to Inform Blind and Low-Vision Users about Data Privacy through Privacy Question Answering Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08687/) (2023)
- [Probing the Gaps in ChatGPT Live Video Chat for Real-World Assistance for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.03651/) (2025)
- [Explainable AI for Blind and Low-Vision Users: Navigating Trust, Modality, and Interpretability in the Agentic Era](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.00187/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI (GenAI) tools are increasingly woven into how blind and low-vision (BLV) people communicate, not only with digital information, but with the physical world and with other people. Tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Be My AI, and Seeing AI translate visual and textual content into accessible form, and are beginning to substitute for interpersonal requests for help, such as asking a family member to read a label or describe a scene. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 19 BLV participants, we examine GenAI as a communication intermediary and how it succeeds and fails as an alternative for reading, describing, and even asking another person for help. We also investigated what BLV users gain and risk when these tools take over that role. We conclude with design and policy implications for GenAI systems that communicate uncertainty honestly, protect information, and support BLV users' independence rather than substitute for it unsafely.