How did you get into the tech space?
I always loved photography and got my first camera when I was 12. When I was in my third year at photography school, my professor told me, ‘You’re not a photographer’. In some ways, this was earth-shattering. But it pushed me in the direction of tech — there was a point of time at Microsoft when I decided I was just going to work on accessibility.
Sacrifices had to be made and many peers rocketed up the corporate ladder way faster than me. But being devoted to PwDs is something I wouldn’t change for anything in the world. That’s my story.
What are your thoughts on Satya Nadella?
In many ways, Satya Nadella also helped push me in this direction. When Satya first became CEO, we were at an internal event and I asked him, ‘Hey, can you make design care about accessibility?’ He said, ‘No, you do it.’ (laughs). He is a wonderful leader who has developed a culture at Microsoft that lets everyone work together and at the same time, allows each person to work on things that are individually important.
What is the future of tech in the world?
I’ve been in big tech for many, many years now and have never seen anything like this — AI is the future of tech. When you think about interacting with computers, it’s mostly about input and output, right? Artificial Intelligence transforming content and transforming input has tons of potential to open up computing to people with disabilities.
What is the one thing that technology has taught you?
I have worked with a lot of engineers; I can’t blame them but they tend to get lost in the minutiae of tech, forgetting who they are building tech for. It always comes back to people. Are we helping people do more?
What is one message you have for startups and tech enthusiasts in Hyderabad?
I just want everyone to keep this in mind — I don’t think anyone who makes products or experiences sets out to exclude people. But unless we intentionally include, we will unintentionally exclude. It can be uncomfortable but I ask you to embrace that discomfort and engage with those communities. That is the way forward.
