💡 AI + Sign Language: Building Tools That Truly Understand
- Tim Scannell
- Nov 12
- 1 min read
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, text-to-gloss and gloss-to-sign systems - for kiosks, Totems, train stations, and public screens. That’s great for hearing, non-signing consumers who want visual or accessible information.
But what about Deaf, native sign language users — the people who live in sign? What do they want from AI?
Too often, I see public speakers on stage discussing text-to-sign technology without sign language interpreters or Deaf professionals by their sides. The audience is usually hearing and learning about sign language instead of with it.
True accessibility means designing with the Deaf community, not around it.
Because for native signers, sign language isn’t a feature - It’s identity, culture, and belonging.
The future of accessibility isn’t voice-first or text-first.It’s sign-first.
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