Version 1 named as a finalist of 2024 Microsoft Inclusion Changemaker Partner of the Year Award

In 2023, Version 1 held its first-ever CTO competition – the Great GPT Tech Off, developed by Brad Mallard. This competition challenged our people to find innovative means of utilising GPT.

Jude and her team won the competition with the idea of adapting GPT technology to improve communication for neurodiverse people, improving independence and quality of life.

This fantastic idea was developed further with the AI Labs, into ‘Simplified Stories’ a web application with LLM integration that will allow for social stories to be created with beautiful animations and narrations to help people with neurodiversity.

We sat down with Jude McVitty, Social Value Manager and Filippo Sassi, Head of AI Labs to discuss the journey of creating TNMOC Mate.

Jude, what was the moment you realised the impact your idea could have on inclusivity in tech?

I actually started with the idea that AI was going to do incredible things for inclusivity, and you could see it in the distance. You could see how it would work, and then I had to narrow that down into something that you could do a proof of concept with. So, it wasn’t so much that the idea is more proof of the inclusivity that tech is capable of with AI and with these new developments more than the idea came to a point where I realised that you could be inclusive with tech.

For me, it was always the big picture, what excited me and then finding a way to almost illustrate that to the innovation labs so that they had the impetus and the energy to take it forward.

Filippo, the app Version 1 built for the National Museum of Computing, TNMOC Mate, how does it foster inclusivity?

TNMOC Mate is an easy-to-use app that uses generative AI to make the museum more accessible and engaging. It’s very easy to use, just scan a QR code, choose your language and age-appropriate persona, and enjoy the museum content. All the instructions, videos and audio recordings are all AI-generated. It’s inclusive, catering to diverse languages and the neurodiverse community, and sets a new standard for accessible educational experiences.

And, looking ahead, how do you see AI’s role evolving in creating more inclusive opportunities?

There are many ways that AI can be used to promote inclusivity like we saw with the National Museum of Computing. We could use voice-to-text services and/or text-to-voice. We could use translation services to make the content more accessible to neurodiverse people or people with different language backgrounds.

Another use case could be to create tailored learning experiences. So, for example, we can have students with diverse abilities learn in more effective ways, but we could also help teachers to best adapt to different learning styles.

Finally, AI could be used to analyse data so for example we can spot gaps in Social Services or suggest improvements to reach, disregarded groups in a more effective way.