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Guest: Joe Devon
Title: Chair, GAAD Foundation | Co-founder, Global Accessibility Awareness Day

AI is reshaping how we design software—but accessibility still too often shows up as an afterthought. In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., Joe Devon joins us to unpack what it actually means to build technology that works for everyone, especially as generative AI becomes embedded across products, platforms, and workflows.

Joe explains why accessibility isn’t a niche concern—it affects more than 1.3 billion people globally—and why AI represents both the biggest risk and the biggest opportunity the accessibility movement has ever seen. We dig into the early findings from the AI Model Accessibility Checker (AIMAC), what most AI models still get wrong about accessible code, and why “AI will fix it later” is a dangerous assumption.

We also explore how front-end tools like AI-generated captions, voice interfaces, and image descriptions are changing daily life for users with disabilities—and where back-end AI systems can finally close the gap between automated testing and real-world usability. Throughout the conversation, Joe makes a compelling case that accessibility is not just a moral imperative, but a design discipline that will separate future-proof products from legacy ones.

Topics covered:

• Why most digital products still fail basic accessibility standards
• How AI can dramatically expand—or quietly restrict—access
• What AIMAC reveals about how accessible today’s AI models really are
• Front-end vs. back-end accessibility breakthroughs
• The ethical stakes of deploying inaccessible AI at scale
• Why inclusive design must be a core requirement, not a patch

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Climate change is a global problem—but climate capital doesn’t flow globally.

In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., Jeremy sits down with Lassor Feasley, co-founder and CEO of Renewables.org, to unpack why some of the highest-impact climate solutions on Earth remain dramatically underfunded.

Renewables.org applies a Kiva-style crowdfunding model to distributed solar projects across the Global South. Individuals can invest as little as $25 into no-interest loans that fund solar installations—and are repaid monthly over five years, allowing capital to be recycled again and again.

Lassor explains why:

• A dollar invested in Global South solar can deliver up to 5x the carbon impact of a comparable U.S. project
• Traditional climate fintech and ESG models break down in frontier markets
• Repayment isn’t just financial—it’s proof of impact
• Design, not just technology, determines whether climate solutions scale

This conversation goes beyond solar panels to explore systems, incentives, trust, and the future of climate finance—and why everyday individuals may be better positioned than institutions to fund the energy transition where it matters most.

If climate change is a race against time, this episode asks a harder question: are we deploying capital where it actually counts?

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When Google’s algorithm changes caused HubSpot’s traffic to plummet 80%, most companies would have panicked.

Aja Frost saw an opportunity.

As Senior Director of Global Growth at HubSpot, Aja led the transformation that helped HubSpot not only recover—but become the most-cited CRM in generative AI results.

In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., Jeremy Goldman sits down with Aja to talk about how the rules of discovery, demand, and digital visibility are being rewritten in real time—and why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) may be the next big discipline marketers can’t afford to ignore.

They discuss:
🔍 What happens when users trust ChatGPT more than Google
🧠 How HubSpot rebuilt its content strategy around AI answers
💬 The formula for getting cited by AI models—and what most brands get wrong
📈 Why visibility beats clicks in an LLM-driven world
🌐 The new off-site frontier: Reddit, YouTube, and the “dark funnel” of discovery
⚙️ How to measure success when your customer journey starts with a chatbot

If you work in marketing, SEO, or content—and you’ve felt the ground shifting under your feet—this episode will help you understand how to thrive in the AI search era.