Advancing Digital Accessibility with AI
Delivering Section 508 compatibility with ARIA by Kamiwaza
For municipalities and local governments, a key responsibility is delivering digital services that meet the needs of all citizens. To fulfill this responsibility, a town should pursue Section 508 compliance, which calls for websites and digital materials to be accessible by removing barriers such as missing PDF tagging, poor color contrast, or missing alternative text. These standards ensure that people with and without disabilities can engage with essential services online.
Achieving Section 508 compliance can be a significant undertaking, requiring an entire digital presence to be audited and updated to meet accessibility standards. This process becomes far more manageable with advanced AI and collaboration across technology leaders including HPE, NVIDIA, SHI International, and Kamiwaza.
Technology in Focus
Section 508 compliance efforts are best supported by technology that can manage accessibility at scale. Here, that work is enabled by a stack built for scale, security, and performance:
- HPE Private Cloud AI, a turnkey AI factory co-developed with NVIDIA, delivers a cloud experience on prem, ideal for complex environments or organizations that need to retain full control over their data. The solution is also available on HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 servers with NVIDIA RTX™ PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs, combining an industry-leading server with the latest GPU accelerators for enterprise AI performance.
- Kamiwaza developed ARIA, an AI agent built to identify and remediate accessibility issues at scale, with capabilities including:
- Edit metadata for PDFs and images
- Generate context-aware image descriptions and text
- Deliver precise remediation plans for HTML, including code fixes, suggested attributes, and updated Open Graph and sitemap entries
- Provide ongoing guidance and remediation as regulatory requirements change
- SHI’s AI Advisory and Integration Services ensure seamless implementation and sustained compliance through expert-led assessment, deployment, training, and ongoing support. With access to SHI's AI & Cyber Labs, organizations can validate AI solutions using their actual data, workloads, and integration requirements in a secure sandbox environment. Backed by a team of data scientists and AI architects, SHI delivers customized AI solutions that minimize generative AI implementation risks and drive real business value.
A Faster Path to Compliance
AI enables cities to meet Section 508 compliance more efficiently, building accessibility into how digital services are delivered. Instead of a one-time remediation effort, AI agents like ARIA run continuously to keep websites and documents compliant as digital content expands and regulations evolve.
Most importantly, AI reduces the time and manpower required to review hundreds of websites and files manually, accelerating the process and freeing staff to focus on higher-value priorities. The outcome is a more consistent and reliable online experience for residents and visitors.
Looking Ahead
Kamiwaza is excited to collaborate with HPE, NVIDIA, and SHI to bring scalable AI-driven accessibility solutions to municipalities and local governments. Future projects could extend beyond compliance, leveraging HPE Private Cloud AI, integrated by SHI and powered by NVIDIA accelerated computing, to support broader AI use cases that strengthen safety, efficiency, and community operations.
