SAVE THE DATE - Ashley Shew presents on November 26

 Virtual Ability^® presents the 10^th annual
International Disability
Rights Affirmation Conference
Friday, November 26, 2021

Dr. Ashley Shew and her cat, Sugar

Dr. Ashley Shew is an Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech, where she shares in cross-disability community with the Disability Alliance and Caucus and the New River Valley Disability Resource Center. Dr. Shew will be presenting at Virtual Ability’s annual International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference (IDRAC) in the Sojourner Auditorium in Second Life. Her presentation will begin at 2:30pm Pacific Standard Time on Friday, November 26. Dr. Shew will be introduced by Sitearm Madonna.

The theme of this year’s IDRAC conference is “Ableism: Where Are We Now?” Ableism is social prejudice against persons with disabilities that favors able-bodied/minded people.

The title of Dr. Shew’s presentation is “Technoableism and Future AI.” Technoableism is a form of ableism discrimination against persons with disabilities, that is reinforced through stories about assistive and other disability-related technologies. Technoableism shapes our imagination of what good technologies are, and who they are for, and often runs contrary to disability-led and disability-forward design. 

Please join us in Second Life, or view the conference on VirtualAbility’s YouTube channel live stream, as we learn more about this form of ableism that impacts the daily lives of persons with disabilities.