AI HELPS DISABLED PEOPLE GET JOBS

[Anchor Lead]

While the number of working disabled people is not large, accounting for about a third of the total, their activities have been gradually expanding with the help of artificial intelligence technology in recent years. Can AI, which is changing the world, also break down the barriers of disabilities? We take a look.

[Pkg]

An announcement is heard as a passenger hops on a cab.

[Soundbite] "The driver is hearing impaired. Please use the tablet to speak to him."

The passenger's request is communicated to the driver.

[Soundbite] "Please turn on the air conditioner."

The destination can be changed easily as well.

[Soundbite] "Drop me off at the front gate."

One out of three drivers at this taxi company is hearing impaired. But they have no problem driving now that they can easily communicate with the passengers by utilizing artificial intelligence.

[Soundbite] Lee Hyeong-su(Hearing-impaired taxi driver(Interviewed in sign language)) : "I heard about this company where I can be hired to work. I rushed in soon after hearing the good news."

This is a visual assistance app that senses objects and communicates the details to the user.

[Soundbite] "There are 12 sentences."

Providing summary is a cinch.

[Soundbite] "Read me the summary. (The smartphone camera is...)"

The app also remembers people's faces, connects them to their names, and provides them to the user.

[Soundbite] "Reporter Jo Jeong-in is expressionless."

When artificial intelligence is added to a device that was once only able to describe objects, the device was turned into a sophisticated technology with task assistance capability.

[Soundbite] Kim Seong-jun(Office worker with grade 2 visual impairment) : "I often couldn't understand the massive amount of documents. But now it's much better because this device can summarize them."

However, the more sophisticated the AI technology, the more expensive its usage fee. So it isn't easy to apply the technology to ordinary workplaces.

[Soundbite] Cho Soo-won(CEO, Visual assistance app developing company) : "It requires a lot of money, time and effort. Since we get a lot of corporate support, the visually impaired people in Korea are the only ones with access to this audio service."

Only about 36% of disabled people work, but AI technology is taking down the employment barrier one step at a time.