Tim Scannell, Accessibility Consultant:

Enhancing Access for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing by Focusing on Sign Language, Digital Accessibility, and Information Access for Everyone.

AI with sign language is moving fast. Accountability is not. Too many claims are appearing in very high numbers. Too many organisations are still avoiding a clear public position. And too often, the discussion seems more focused on protecting AI than protecting people. That is why my question remains simple: Who gave approval for AI with sign language? Alt text: Bold campaign graphic on a dark background. Large white and yellow text says, “AI with sign language is moving fast

On Sunday , 16 February , I published a blog post on “blurring the handshape.” The central point was simple: When the handshape is blurred, the meaning is blurred. This is not a minor technical issue. It is: a language integrity issue, an accessibility issue, and a Deaf rights issue. AI-generated signing is increasingly being presented as “accessibility.” However, sign language access is not merely visual output on a screen. Sign language access is a conversation. It dep

Someone in Australia passed me an article today, and it struck a deep chord. Even now, in 2025, Deaf people are still being told their own language is a problem to be solved. Here in the UK, we do not use language like “deaf and dumb,” “deaf-mute,” or “hearing impairment.” These terms are outdated, offensive, and rooted in a long history of discrimination. Deaf people are not defective. We are not incomplete. We are a linguistic and cultural community with a recognised lang

Recently, I’ve seen growing interest in tools like Sign-Speak and SignGemma — both exploring how AI can better understand sign language, not just display it. 🧠 Sign-Speak focuses on real-time sign-to-text and sign-to-voice translation, giving Deaf users and interpreters more direct ways to communicate.🤖 SignGemma , from Google DeepMind, explores sign language recognition using large-scale AI models. Out there, we already see many providers creating audio-to-text , tex