Amazon has partnered with disability rights organisation The Arc to provide free Alexa devices to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

The company said that for people with IDD, the barriers to accessing technology can be high even though they can benefit from using it.

As part of the programme, Amazon is donating 5,000 Echo Show and Fire tablet devices to nearly 600 chapters of The Arc across the United States.

It said these donations will enable people with IDD to use technology to improve their daily living and enhance their independence.

“We’re excited to work with The Arc to support and empower people with disabilities,” said Leila Rouhi, VP of trust for devices & services at Amazon. “It is energising to see how our devices meaningfully improve the lives of customers, and we will continue working to make the world more accessible through technology for people with IDD.”

Earlier this week, Amazon said it will provide free AI skills training to around two million people by 2025.

Under its AI Ready commitment, Amazon recently announced it will launch eight courses on AI and generative AI which supplement around 80 free and low-cost courses provided through Amazon Web Services (AWS). It will also provide $12 million for the AWS Generative AI Scholarship to over 50,000 school and university students from underserved and underrepresented communities.

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