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Digital Outcasts

Moving Technology Forward without Leaving People Behind

  • 2nd Edition - April 24, 2026
  • Latest edition
  • Author: Kel Smith
  • Language: English

Digital Outcasts: Moving Technology Forward without Leaving People Behind, Second Edition comprehensively explores inclusive design in human-computer interaction. The book examin… Read more

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Description

Digital Outcasts: Moving Technology Forward without Leaving People Behind, Second Edition comprehensively explores inclusive design in human-computer interaction. The book examines the real-life experiences of people with disabilities as they navigate systemic barriers in employment, education, healthcare, and social connectivity. This new edition covers the intersectionality of disability with other forms of economic and political discrimination, uncovering how biases related to race, gender, and ability are reflected in language models and AI algorithms. With digital access a foundational element of human existence, the consequences of exclusion are far-reaching and increasingly urgent.

Citing case studies in law, creative arts, and social science, this updated edition also examines the historical and emergent impact people with disabilities have on culture and industry. Digital Outcasts emphases that disability has long served as a powerful catalyst for design innovation, driving transformational benefit for consumers of all abilities and backgrounds. Taking into account new legal and technological perspectives, this revision stands as an update on the progress we have made—and how far we have yet to go.

Key features

  • Helps readers gain a better understanding of how people with disabilities approach and use everyday technologies and services
  • Covers the pitfalls and approaches necessary to help stay current in product design and strategy practice
  • Prepares users for a world in which inclusive benefit is achievable for people of all abilities and backgrounds

Readership

Graduate students and researchers working in the fields of accessibility, disability, HCI, web development, and product strategy.

Table of contents

Digital Outcasts
Copyright
In praise of Digital Outcasts: Moving Technology Forward without Leaving People Behind
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword by David Ogunrinde
Preface
Introduction


1. Who Are Digital Outcasts?

2. Interpreting Ability

3. Beyond Accessibility To Inclusion

4. Accessibility and the Real World

5. Defining Inclusive Innovation

6. Where Mind and Body Meet

7. Inclusive Design As Social Responsibility

8. Tomorrow’s Digital Outcasts

References
Index

Product details

  • Edition: 2
  • Latest edition
  • Published: April 24, 2026
  • Language: English

About the author

KS

Kel Smith

Kel Smith is a speaker, author, instructor, and practitioner with nearly thirty years of experience working in the design and technology sectors. Mr. Smith has spearheaded accessibility efforts in such areas as medical devices, healthcare informatics, enterprise software, and workplace culture. Mr. Smith launched Aisle Won, a nutrition support app that connects low-income populations with sources of accessible and affordable locally grown food.

Mr. Smith has delivered over 100 presentations in six countries on the topic of digital accessibility and social innovation. His credits include talks for the Centre for Health Literacy, the Royal National Institute of the Blind, the Art Institute of Chicago, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Stanford University, among many others. Mr. Smith’s work has been featured on CBC Radio’s “The Current,” National Public Radio, and the BBC.

For nine years, Mr. Smith served on the board of directors for Inglis Foundation, the Philadelphia region’s largest provider of accessible and affordable health services. He also served two terms as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of ACM/SIG-CHI for computer-human interaction. Mr. Smith is an adjunct lecturer at Rutgers University, teaching courses on digital design and the social impact of inclusive innovation.

Affiliations and expertise
Adjunct lecturer, Rutgers University, USA