The first signs that my eyesight was failing didn’t really register with me. The first one came on a brilliantly
sunny day when I was photographing butterflies and had trouble focusing in on the insect. I put it down to the
brilliance of the sun. And then, a few days later, I seriously misjudged a righthand turn and nearly drove into a traffic light.

And then came the diagnosis – age-related macular degeneration, a nasty little disease that has now robbed me of much of my central vision. People’s faces are a blur, watching television is the equivalent of listening to a radio play and driving is a distance memory. As time goes on, more things disappear from my life but there are many things to help me live a full life and, who knows, a cure may be just around the corner. Until then, as my optician often tells me, AI is my friend. Here are a few of the ways in which it helps me.

Computers

Meet Pinky and Binky, my two iMacs configured to make life easier for me. I use Pinky, on the left, for writing and she has a specially fitted nano screen which reduces glare as well as a dictation app. An unfortunate side effect of the nano screen compromises colour and this is where Binky comes into her own. As she has no nano screen, she is colour calibrated so I can safely do my artwork in Photoshop. On both machines I have made full use of Apple’s excellent accessibility features – adjusted brightness, contrast, dark mode, pointer and type size (currently set at 24 point in Gill Sans, which I find easier to see than a serif font). A useful recent addition – a pair of big button keyboards.

My Two Main Helpers

SPEECHIFY
When I first uploaded the free trial of Speechify, I encountered quite a few problems and nearly gave up. I am glad I persevered, however, because it has become one of the mainstays of my computer work, I discovered that it only really works through Chrome Extensions. I have always used Safari as my browser so my first learning curve was to come to terms with Chrome and it’s interface. Once that hurdle was gone, I find Speechify really easy to use. One of its main advantages, for me, is that it will read Facebook posts to me. It places the triangular symbol for “Play” underneath each post and with one click of a button it will read everything in that post. It will read PDFs of any kind and also any highlighted area on my screen. Once installed, it places a little green symbol on the top right hand corner of the screen and one click of this will read all the highlighted material. Speechify has an amazing range of voices, easy access with visual prompts. Learning to use Speechify was a game changer for me and, if you’re willing to work your way through its initial vagaries, I would highly recommend giving it a go.

iPHONE
While still essential to facilitate my AI devices and useful for listening to audiobooks and music (headphones on) I struggle to read the screen. I do have the SeeingAI app for when my Meta glasses are not close to hand.

AI META GLASSES
I was introduced to the concept of Meta AI glasses on a routine visit to my optician. At that point, I had never heard of them and was completely taken with their capabilities. I now have a pair, fitted with my varifocal prescription and use them every day for a variety of tasks. Once they were paired with my smartphone and linked to Wi-Fi, I found their capability to be endless. Using the twelve megapixel camera fitted in one of the legs, they will scan any document and read it back to me. This is unobtrusive as only I can hear the spoken voice and it doesn’t disturb anyone else who may be in the room. At my command, the glasses will send a message or make a

phone call to anyone on my contact list and notify me of any return call. I can ask questions such as, “Am I near the kerb?” or “Is there anything on the table?” and the answer will come quite quickly. The thing I found most useful is that I can ask any question on any subject and, not only will I get an answer, I’m able to engage in a live conversation with the voice in real time. They will even tell me a joke if I’m feeling a bit down! The examples above are only a small selection of what the glasses can do to help the partially sighted. Again, the technology can be a little bit daunting if you’re not computer literate but the benefits of coming to terms with using these glasses is enormous.

And also …

Apart from all the AI technology, there are lots of small things that facilitate my day to day life. I have a range of magnifying glasses, supplied to me by the Low Vision Clinic at the Queens Medical Centre. They also supplied me with a pair of UV40 wrap round sunglasses. I re-visit them occasionally to have my level of sight re-assessed and get new equipment, if necessary. When I go shopping I wear a badge that says I am visually impaired and find that people are more than helpful when they see it. I am struggling at the moment with tasks in the kitchen and have been in contact with an organisation called Mysight who send people into the home to give advice on the best way to cope with this. I have not yet used a cane although I have been told by many others that it does help with stability and also alerts people that you have a sight problem. At the moment, I feel that I have all the equipment and help that I need and feel confident that, going into a darkening future, I will be able to cope with whatever life throws at me. Onwards and upwards!