Blind comedian McCausland criticizes 'woke' AI for omitting race in audio descriptions

British comedian Chris McCausland, who is blind, has criticized what he describes as woke artificial intelligence and television audio description for failing to detail people’s race. The 48-year-old performer, who won Strictly Come Dancing last year, is presenting a BBC documentary titled Seeing Into The Future about the future of technology, slated to air this autumn. In a trailer for the programme, McCausland showcases how heavily he relies on his iPhone to describe the world around him, a tool that helps him navigate conversations and choose outfits.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, McCausland said that audio descriptions of faces are lacking. "Something that I think needs to be looked at in terms of making it a truly great accessibility tool to get audio descriptions of faces," he said. He gave an example that highlighted the limitation: "You don’t want to be looking at a photograph of someone famous like Denzel Washington and all it says is ‘it’s a man’." He added that protected statuses such as race, religion or disability are sometimes treated as off-limits to comment on, though he argued they are important because people passively absorb these cues without asking questions. "When you talk to somebody when you’re blind you do want to build an image in your head."

McCausland continued: "Ethnicity and cultural heritage are a really important part of somebody's character and shouldn't be something that were scared to flag and talk about as being a key part of their description." He urged that audio descriptions on television should not shy away from stating details such as race, saying, "Don’t be afraid to say it’s a white guy in a wheelchair, it’s a black woman with braids, it’s an Asian man."

During the Cambridge interview, McCausland used AI software on his iPhone to illustrate his point by scanning the host, Angellica Bell, a former CBBC presenter. The device described the interviewer as "enthusiastically smiling and wearing a pin-stripe outfit," but failed to mention that she is Black.

McCausland, who won Strictly Come Dancing last year with professional partner Dianne Buswell, remains a high-profile advocate for accessibility in digital tools. The BBC announced yesterday that the pair would return to the ballroom during Saturday’s opening episode of the new series and reprise their BAFTA-winning waltz to "You’ll Never Walk Alone."

The discussion around AI-driven accessibility tools underscores a broader debate about how artificial intelligence should describe and represent people in media. Supporters say more precise, contextual descriptions can enhance understanding and independence for blind and visually impaired users, while critics warn against overreach and the risk of stereotyping or bias. McCausland’s remarks align with growing calls for more nuanced, ethically aware descriptive capabilities in consumer technology, a field that remains in active development as studios and platforms seek to balance accessibility with sensitivity to personal identity.