Access as Friction

A disability-studies framing, articulated by Jackson, Haagaard, and Williams, that reframes accessibility work as productive friction rather than seamless accommodation. Rather than smoothing every interaction, "access as friction" calls for designs that make users pause, reflect, and confront assumptions — for example, interfaces that prompt users to critically evaluate AI-generated images for disability stereotypes. The concept challenges the dominant design goal of frictionless experience when frictionlessness enables harm.