So here's a perfect example of the issues with #AI#AltText. Yes, it's usually better than nothing. But here's a case where it isn't: I have Microsoft Edge set up to give me automatic alt text when it's missing. The alt-text it gave for a profile image reads "Appears to be: Taika Waititi." My first thought is: Huh? Who? I have no idea who this is, and the profile in question is for someone named Laura, so it's deeply unlikely to be Taika Waititi, whomever they may be. So now I'm left with the incorrect name of someone (hopefully a public figure?) I don't know, and no information about anything actually in the image. AI can't understand that I've never heard of Taika Waititi, that the name directly underneath the image reads "Laura", that the image is a profile picture, and put all these things together to generate contextually correct alt-text. #a11y#accessibility
@fastfinge Hi, I think that might be me! I prefer to stay somewhat anonymous online, so instead of a picture of myself, I use an image of my favourite character from the TV show “Our Flag Means Death”. So the AI is right in this case: Taika Waititi is the name of the actor. It's a shame Mastodon doesn't allow alt text for profile pictures. There is an image description in my bio, but reading it again now, I realise it's actually not a great description. I'll have to edit that later!
@lowrah It was! I wasn’t trying to call you out in any way, though. It was just an interesting example of a wider problem. I’m happy to change your first name in my original post if you’d like.
@fastfinge Oh no, don't worry, I don't mind at all! It's a very common name after all, and I honestly hadn't thought about how confusing that discrepancy might be when you can't fully rely on the AI description being correct, so I'm glad you pointed it out! I am aware that having an image description in my bio isn't a perfect solution either, because it still requires you to visit my profile. But I'm wondering now, would it be best to at least have the description right at the top of my bio?
@fastfinge I currently have it in one of the extra fields further down in my profile, because that's where I've seen others put theirs, but maybe that makes it harder to find than it really should be.
@fastfinge Yeah, I really hope this gets implemented sometime soon. I've put the image description at the top now, thank you for your advice! Unfortunately, the one for my header image wouldn't fit, but at least the profile pic description is in there now.
