Webinar: Navigating the Intersection of the EU AI Act and the EU Accessibility Act

This joint webinar by the ALFIE project, Transmedia Catalonia Access Talks, and FORSEE explores how the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act and the European Accessibility Act connect and impact technology and inclusion.

The European Union is establishing new rules for digital governance. This development creates a growing issue of accessibility for researchers and developers. On one hand, the European Accessibility Act mandates that digital services and public infrastructures be intentionally inclusive. These rules often require systems to adapt to the specific needs of users with disabilities. On the other hand, the EU AI Act introduces strict prohibitions on biometric categorisation. The legislation restricts or bans the use of artificial intelligence to infer sensitive characteristics, such as disability status, for the purpose of data harvesting or model training.

This creates a complicated landscape for those working in urban planning and digital co-creation. Designers must find ways to build artificial intelligence tools that provide seamless accessibility without infringing on biometric privacy. In practice, institutional data deserts intensify this paradox; the lived accessibility needs of vulnerable groups are poorly captured, forcing designers to choose between inference, exclusion, or human mediation. 

By reframing these regulatory hurdles as design opportunities, the event provides a roadmap for ensuring that the next generation of AI tools is not only technologically advanced but also ethically grounded and universally accessible.

Key discussion points include:

• The distinction between prohibited biometric profiling and legitimate assistive personalisation.
• Strategies for designing privacy-preserving accessibility that prioritise user-led declarations over autonomous system-led detection.
• Why fixed AI laws and ‘one-time’ consent don’t work for the diverse and changing needs of neurodivergent people.
• The challenges of maintaining “human-to-human” connection in digital co-creation tools, such as chatbots, while ensuring they do not become barriers for older or digitally excluded populations.
• Governance tensions and the role of civil society: how can accessible, rights-based AI systems be meaningfully designed and implemented if civil society organisations representing marginalised communities are structurally excluded from regulatory deliberations and co-creation processes?

Webinar Outline and Speakers

• 11:00 – 11:05: Welcome Address by Sarah Anne McDonagh (UAB, ALFIE)
• 11:05 – 11:20: When Inclusion Meets Prohibition: The Accessibility Paradox in EU AI Law by Daphne Giakoumaki (DBC diadikasia, ALFIE)
• 11:20 – 11:35: Civil Society and the AI Governance Paradox by Alexandros Minotakis (University College Dublin, FORSEE)
• 11:35 – 11:50: The road to Paradox Hell may be paved with the best of intentions by Haris Shekeris (Catalink, ALFIE)
• 11:50 – 12:20: Debate & Open Discussion (Q&A)
• 12:20 – 12:30: Wrap up by Sarah Anne McDonagh (UAB)