TL;DR – Quick Summary
After decades of slow progress on accessibility, it’s time for a both/and approach. We should keep fighting for compliance—but also embrace AI and other punk tools to solve problems now. That’s what Vibe Access is all about.
After 30 years of promises about web accessibility, I’m done waiting.
Don’t get me wrong—I still believe in WCAG compliance, alt text, and accessible design. Those standards matter. That work is important. Keep fighting that fight.
But while we wait for the world to catch up, blind people need solutions today.
That’s where Vibe Access comes in.
Why Both Matter
Vibe Access isn’t about abandoning the push for better accessibility standards—it’s about refusing to let our lives be limited while we wait. It’s a parallel path, not a replacement.
Here’s how I see it:
Traditional Accessibility
- Pushes organizations to build accessible websites and apps
- Creates lasting, sustainable solutions
- Fights for legal protections and compliance
- Establishes important standards and best practices
Vibe Access
- Gives us tools to access the world right now
- Puts control in our hands, not corporations’
- Uses AI as our ally when human designers fail us
- Creates immediate independence without permission
The $8 Reality Check
Recently, I was explaining how I use an AI-powered support worker—it describes inaccessible screens, operates broken controls, and functions like an on-demand digital support worker. All for $8 a month.
Someone told me, “But websites should be accessible! You shouldn’t have to pay for that!
“
And yeah, they should be. But they aren’t. And after 30 years of waiting, I’m done putting my life on hold until the world gets its act together.
The Both/And Approach
- Push for better standards and use AI tools to access what you need now
- Advocate for compliance and hack together solutions that work for you today
- Demand what should be and vibe with what is
Join the Movement
Whether you’re blind and looking for practical solutions, a developer who wants to build better, or an ally who gets it—Vibe Access welcomes you.
Together, we can:
- Share AI tools that unlock inaccessible content
- Build communities around practical DIY solutions
- Keep pushing for better standards while refusing to be limited by their absence
- Create tutorials for using today’s AI tools to bridge accessibility gaps
Access wasn’t given to us. So we’re taking it.