Expanding Accessibility in Immersive Virtual Spaces: A Comprehensive Approach for All Disabilities

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many events and conferences hastily converted to a virtual format, and many commercial ventures promptly developed tools promising seamless transitions to virtual spaces. In particular, efforts to expand and monetize augmented and virtual reality environments increased. While these spaces increased accessibility for some, others were left behind. In 2024, many events returned to on-site venues, yet virtual spaces remain central in academic and research communities, particularly for disabled scholars. As such, in this paper, we advocate for continued virtual access and improved virtual spaces; we also identify some potentially overlooked harms in immersive and embodied virtual spaces.
Comment: This is an accepted position statement of CHI 2024 Workshop (Novel Approaches for Understanding and Mitigating Emerging New Harms in Immersive and Embodied Virtual Spaces: A Workshop at CHI 2024)