Can a blind person understand your world?

Computers have changed the lives of blind people by allowing us to access vast amounts of information on the net. Now we can read daily newspapers, hear digital textbooks, shop for goods online, and join online social networks. However, "sensing the surrounding real world" is still challenging for such tasks as checking the colors of merchandise, responding to street signs, or recognizing smiling faces. Driving a car is still one of the largest challenges, but technology is continually breaking new ground. The expansion of online data is now pushing machine learning techniques and crowd sourcing methods, which together enable blind people to understand ever more about the real world. Just as importantly, these same technologies can help sighted people better understand the world, too. We have entered an era of assisted cognition, not only for persons with disabilities, but for everyone. In this talk, I will offer predictions about near-future possibilities and discuss how these technologies can change our lives.