This case study examines how a single Cornell Tech panel was intentionally designed and extended using participatory, AI-supported storytelling methods. By combining structured listening, human facilitation, and AI-enabled synthesis, the session evolved into a set of accessible, policy-relevant knowledge assets that live beyond the event itself.
The work demonstrates how convenings can move beyond one-time moments to become durable systems for inclusion, sense-making, and shared understanding, with accessibility treated as a design principle rather than a post-event accommodation.
Case study by Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi
Founder, Liz Ngonzi + AI Ecosystem & The International Social Impact Institute® | Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYU Center for Global Affairs | Board Member & Founding Ethics Chair, American Society for AI | Originator & Founding Platform Architect, AI for Humanity: Human-Centered Strategies for Innovation & Impact
Meet Our Expert Panel
Panelists bringing perspectives from municipal governance, civic engagement, inclusive AI, and ethical innovation.
Arthur Jacobs
Digital Accessibility Coordinator at NYC Office of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi, MMH '98
Founder/CEO of The International Social Impact Institute® and Board Member / Founding Chair of Ethics & Responsible AI Committee at American Society for AI
How We Used AskHumans in This Session — Four Steps in a Single Timeline
AskHumans enabled us to bring real community voices directly into the panel by gathering candid input before and during the session. The platform helped surface themes, shape the run-of-show, and generate actionable insights in real time.
Four steps in a single timeline:
Step 1 - Center Disability & Inclusion
We deployed the AskHumans study before and during the panel, inviting participants and our LinkedIn community to share reflections about accessibility, AI, and policy. This broadened the conversation beyond the room.
Step 2 - Capture Every Voice
AskHumans collected short voice and text submissions that revealed unfiltered perspectives on barriers, opportunities, and lived experiences—ensuring diverse insights informed our dialogue.
Step 3 - Inform and Innovate
Aggregated community sentiment revealed that 94% prioritized systemic accessibility in technology over minimum compliance—directly equipping the moderator to challenge conventional policy assumptions.
Step 4 - Curate and Deliver
The synthesized insights guided the development of the run-of-show, script, and questions. They also empowered the real-time demonstration of how participatory AI tools can elevate accessibility-focused policymaking.
Watch the Full Panel Recording
Experience the full 55-minute panel from the Cornell Tech Disability and Access in Tech and AI Summit, Accessible Futures: Shaping Policy for Disability, Technology, and AI. Moderated by Elizabeth (Liz) Ngonzi, the session features Arthur Jacobs (NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities), Benjamin Solotaire (NYC Council), and Shaomei Wu (Founder & CEO, AImpower.org).
The discussion explores systemic accessibility as an innovation strategy, algorithmic accountability, and how real-time community reflections gathered through conversational AI shaped the live policy discourse.
From One Panel to a Multimedia Ecosystem
(Powered by Gemini Models)
To make the insights from Accessible Futures widely accessible and enduring, we leveraged Gemini Notebook (formerly Google’s NotebookLM) to transform the full panel transcript and source materials into three distinct executive formats: an AI-generated audio podcast discussion, a video synthesis, and a visual infographic blueprint.
Together, these outputs illustrate how human-centered AI turns a single live convening into durable knowledge assets that educate, influence policy, and drive ongoing engagement long after an event concludes.
Notebook AI-Generated Podcast
This episode recaps Accessible Futures, where accessibility was reframed as both a human right and a rapidly expanding market shaped by more than 1.3 billion people with disabilities. Moderator Liz Ngonzi emphasizes that true inclusion requires designing with lived experience, not relying on compliance alone.
The panel also modeled participatory design through AskHumans, capturing audience reflections in real time. Featuring leaders from NYC government and AImpower.org, the conversation explores how AI and policy can move beyond minimum standards to deliver what the speakers call “lived inclusion.”
Notebook AI-Generated Video Overview
This video overview captures the opening context of Accessible Futures, where moderator Liz Ngonzi reframed accessibility as both a human right and a massive innovation opportunity. With more than 1.3 billion people worldwide living with disabilities and a projected $50B market for AI-powered accessibility, the session positioned inclusion as a strategic imperative—not an optional feature.
The overview also highlights how the panel used AskHumans, a conversational AI tool, to surface audience insights in advance. Those reflections revealed four guiding principles: build accessibility from the start, move beyond compliance, design with lived experience, and recognize accessibility as innovation done right.
Notebook AI-Generated Infographic
This infographic distills the panel’s core message: compliance isn’t inclusion. With the accessibility market expected to exceed $50B, innovation demands designing with disabled communities from the start and treating accessibility as strategy—not retrofit.
It highlights three principles that emerged from the panel: design WITH users, build accessibility in from the ground up, and refuse to launch inaccessible products. Together, they form a clear blueprint for achieving true lived inclusion.
LizNgonzi.ai
Human-centered AI leadership, executive education, collaborative intelligence, and AI-native platforms designed to strengthen human judgment, governance, and institutional capability.
Social
AI is most powerful when it amplifies human judgment, creativity, collaboration, and institutional wisdom rather than replacing them.
© 2026 Elizabeth Ngonzi LLC. All rights reserved.
The International Social Impact Institute® is part of the broader LizNgonzi.ai ecosystem.
Amplifying Impact with AI-Powered Storytelling: A Cornell Tech Case Study from the ‘Accessible Futures’ Panel