I have been visually impaired my entire life. Only my left eye sees anything; my right eye is a spectacularly perfect eye that simply can’t be bothered. It is as if the camera was installed beautifully but nobody ever found the ON switch.
So, I did what so many people living with disabilities across Africa have had to do: spend my entire life adapting to a world designed for someone else. A world where “accessibility” often means a zoom button added as an afterthought which is about as useful as sunglasses at midnight.
But then something shifted.
AI changed my life; not by replacing my work, but by finally making it accessible
When AI arrived, real AI, not the marketing fluff we were sold for a decade, suddenly technology began adapting to me instead of the other way round.
Voice interfaces. Audio descriptions. Multimodal tools. AI agents that read, think, extract and translate context into something I could actually use.
This wasn’t just convenience. This was independence.
And because I’m stubborn (and curious, and a bit competitive), I didn’t stop at using AI, I learned how it works.
I learnt to prompt it, to train it, to break it, to rebuild it.
I learned voice generation, research automation, content design and the entire ecosystem beyond ChatGPT and Copilot.
I failed a hundred times. And then I mastered it.
And suddenly, in the workplace, I wasn’t “the visually impaired one who needs accommodation.” I became the one who could navigate change faster than most. The one who could automate research.
The one who could track global industry shifts overnight.
The one who could produce work normally requiring a small department.
AI didn’t replace my role. It amplified my capability
And now my life may change again in a way I never imagined.
I have recently been accepted into a global medical trial that could, quite literally, switch my unused eye on.
Think neural implants behind the eye, connected to a processor in my glasses, connected to a brain implant, a communications triangle designed to stimulate the “camera” that never switched on. This innovation was previously tested on older patients with sight degeneration.
Now, we are seeing if it can work for someone like me, whose eye has never functioned.
If successful, it could rewrite the boundaries of what is medically possible on the continent.
This is not sci‑fi. It’s not “sometime in the future”.
It’s happening now.
Africa often waits for the rest of the world to validate technology before adopting it. But disability, accessibility, and human potential don’t have the luxury of waiting.
The future of human augmentation, whether through AI, biomedical engineering or interface design is accelerating far faster than policy, education, or workplace culture.
And this time, Africa must not be left behind.
Why I’m telling you this and what it means for our industry
We work in media, digital, marketing and advertising; sectors obsessed with “innovation”, “transformation” and “the next big thing”. But too often we limit innovation to shiny tools, not systemic change.
Here’s the truth:
AI will not take your job.
But someone using AI better than you absolutely will.
And yes, sometimes that “someone” is a visually impaired woman in Woodstock with one working eye and a deep belief in relentless self‑education.
AI is not a threat to human ability.
AI is an amplifier of human ability.
Especially for those of us who’ve spent our entire lives navigating barriers others never see.
What Africa needs to understand urgently
AI isn’t here to make life easier for the privileged.
It’s here to make opportunity more accessible for everyone:
- People with disabilities who’ve been excluded by design
- Young creatives who never had access to expensive software
- Researchers who can’t afford subscription data tools
- Entrepreneurs who need automation because they cannot hire staff
- Entire industries in Africa leapfrogging legacy systems
We talk about inclusivity.
AI demands it.
So, here’s my message to anyone still afraid that AI will replace them
Don’t be so short‑sighted.
(Pun very much intended.)
Let your brain expand. Experiment. Break things. Fail loudly. Learn fast. Use the tools that exist, not to compete with machines, but to elevate what humans do best: feel, think, create, adapt, imagine.
If AI can help someone like me, with limited vision, reimagine what productivity, capability and independence look like, imagine what it can do for a continent full of people with limitless potential.
My journey is still unfolding.
And if the medical trial goes well, my world may literally become brighter.
But whether I see with one eye, two eyes, or through a pair of AI‑powered glasses… I already see the future.
And Africa needs to start seeing it too.
Ingrid von Stein is a visionary communications strategist and storyteller, pioneering accessible innovation across Africa. She transforms complex ideas into powerful narratives that inspire industries, challenge norms, and amplify human potential.
