Low-tech meets AI: Scaling information access for the Blind in India

In this new episode of Pathways to Zero Barriers, Prashant Ranjan Verma shares how simple technology powered by backend AI innovation is opening up a world of information for blind and low-vision communities across India. The conversation builds on Prashant’s personal journey with sudden vision loss, his decades-long work in global accessibility, and the creation of Shravan—an AI-powered, telephone-based digital library. The discussion explores how low-tech user interfaces combined with advanced backend AI can bridge the digital divide, overcome economic and literacy barriers, and provide structured, multilingual access to books, news, and vital information. 📃Episode's transcript Key takeaways from this episode: Bridging the digital divide via low-tech: simple telephone calls as a point of access for daily news, information, and other resources without needing internet, smartphones, or digital literacy. Beyond "toilet paper" reading experiences: why structured international standards like DAISY and EPUB are critical for navigation, allowing users to browse chapters and pages easily rather than relying on endless fast-forwarding. AI-generated news & voice progress: insights into how hyper-realistic text-to-speech AI lowers barriers in producing quality content, enabling automated, human-like news bulletins in minutes. The risks of over-relying on AI: why automated plugins and runtime AI generation are not a substitute for true web accessibility standards, human expertise, and proper document structuring. About our guest: Prashant Ranjan Verma is a visually impaired digital accessibility expert, General Secretary of NAB Delhi, and Accessibility Specialist at the DAISY Consortium. Recently appointed to the World Blind Union’s Technology and Digital Accessibility Committee, he has dedicated his career to bridging the digital divide for those excluded by traditional tech infrastructure. Pathways to Zero Barriers is a Zero Project podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and subscribe!