AI as reasonable accommodation and disability employment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how knowledge is produced, communicated, and assessed across higher education and employment, raising questions about accessibility and legitimate support for persons with disabilities. Building on Cowe’s (2025) framing of AI as epistemic support in disability scholarship, this Current Issues contribution extends this argument into employment and the transition from education to work. We propose that generative AI, particularly large language models, can function as reasonable accommodation, enabling persons with disabilities to participate in epistemic labour without diminishing their intellectual contribution or competence. This reframing challenges distinctions between AI as an accepted productivity tool and its use as disability accommodation. However, AI is not inherently inclusive or emancipatory; its potential depends on how it is designed, governed, and legitimised. We argue that persons with disabilities must therefore be recognised not simply as users of AI-enabled accommodations, but as epistemic actors and co-designers shaping more equitable futures of work.