Blind Egyptian developer’s AI app gives thousands real-time audio descriptions

An AI-powered accessibility app created by a blind Egyptian developer is now helping thousands of users interpret their surroundings through spoken descriptions. Scribe Me works with iPhone and Android devices and has also been integrated into Meta smart glasses, allowing users to keep their hands free for a cane. It can answer questions about what a camera captures and supports about 20 languages, including Arabic.

Developer Mark Murad, 20, began building the tool after screen readers failed to explain graphs, tables and equations in his physics and chemistry lessons. After messages to other developers went unanswered, he taught himself programming through YouTube tutorials and had a working app by 2023. Recognition at technology competitions, including a 2024 assistive AI hackathon, helped him find a co-founder and expand the software beyond document scanning.

The impact became vivid during a June safari in Kenya. His 16-year-old sister Karen, who is also blind, heard continuous descriptions of nearby animals, their distance and their actions through the glasses. She also uses the app to find her classroom, identify shops, choose clothes and study. Scribe Me is now used by thousands of people across 140 countries.