Made For Us

This week, we're taking you back to the first ever episode of Made For Us (and the most downloaded in Season 1). It’s an interview with Cliff Weitzman, the founder and CEO of Speechify, a text to speech app that has made reading more accessible for people with dyslexia, ADHD, low vision and other conditions that make reading difficult. 

Speechify now has 50 million users who can listen to the internet, emails and other documents with over 200 AI voices, including those of celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow.

We also have a special announcement about a big milestone that Made For Us reached this week.

Get the free Made For Us newsletter for behind-the-scenes content and exclusive interviews: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

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When Danish furniture craftsman Hans Jørgen Wiberg launched Be My Eyes, an app connecting blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers, he had no idea it would grow into a global movement. But ten years after its launch, the app now boasts 800,000 blind users and over 8.5 million volunteers, more than the population of his country.

In this episode, Hans, who is blind himself, tells the origin story of the app, how it “spread like wildfire” and Be My Eyes’ partnerships with companies like Microsoft and OpenAI.

The conversation covers:

• The diverse and innovative ways people use the Be My Eyes app
• Why microvolunteering - helping out for just a few minutes - has become such a powerful force for good
• The rapid growth of Be My AI, a new AI-powered feature providing users with quick visual assistance for everyday tasks
• The challenges Be My Eyes faces in reaching underserved communities

Get the free Made For Us newsletter to access exclusive content and learn about future listener Q&As: https://madeforuspodcast.beehiiv.com/

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TB Bardlavens, Director of Product Equity at Adobe, joins us for this special edition featuring questions from Made For Us listeners. 

We discuss what it really means to build technology that works for everyone and how the Product Equity team tackles this challenge across all 137 of Adobe’s products. TB also shares how his team shaped Firefly, Adobe’s suite of generative AI tools, ensuring that its outputs truly reflect human diversity. 

Along the way, TB answers listeners' questions on the impact of DEI rollbacks in the US and Adobe’s approach to building inclusive global products that respect cultural nuances.

Other topics we explore:

• Why traditional product development often fails to meet human needs
• How Adobe is embedding equity and accessibility across its entire product ecosystem
• The human case and the business case for product equity
• The role of AI in creativity and Adobe’s mission to empower, not replace, creatives

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How does bias show up in workplace feedback, and can AI help fix it?

In this episode, we speak with Mykel Rangel, VP of Engineering at Textio, a company that has built AI-driven tools that are reshaping the way managers give feedback and how recruiters craft job ads. We explore the hidden biases in performance reviews, how feedback impacts employee retention and pay, and what leaders can do to create more equitable workplaces.

We also cover:

• Textio’s research on workplace feedback and what language can reveal about a company’s culture
• Why women tend to get more personality-based feedback than men
• How AI can help managers close the feedback gap
• Strategies for evaluating AI tools for bias mitigation

Enjoyed what you heard? Pass it on to a friend - or tell the world with a 5-star review.

Transcripts for this episode are available here: https://made-for-us.captivate.fm/

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What if you could subtitle everyday life? That question sparked the creation of XRAI, a company developing augmented reality glasses that display real-time subtitles right before your eyes. 

In this episode, XRAI CEO and founder Dan Scarfe joins us to share how AI and augmented reality (AR) are making conversations more accessible - for the 1.5 billion people worldwide with hearing loss, but also for anyone who’s ever struggled to hear in a noisy café, missed a detail in a conversation, or needed instant translation.

In this episode, we cover:

• The highs and lows of building inclusive tech
• How XRAI’s earliest users (and Dan’s granddad) helped refine the product
• The different use cases for the technology - benefits for the deaf and neurodivergent communities as well as global businesses
• The future of AI-driven assistive technology and what’s next for XRAI

Enjoyed the conversation? Tell a friend - or tell the world with a 5-star review.

Missed last week's episode? Listen here: https://pod.fo/e/2af77d

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About Dan Scarfe:

Dan Scarfe is the CEO and founder of XRAI, a company using AI and augmented reality to improve accessibility. Inspired by his grandfather’s hearing loss, he developed XRAI Glass, smart glasses that provide real-time subtitles. Under his leadership, XRAI is expanding into live translation and workplace integration, aiming to make communication more inclusive worldwide.