AI & Sign Language: Transparency, Choice, and Responsibility

When we talk about AI and Sign Language, we must be clear: this is not about avatars only, and it is not about a single screen or device.

AI for sign language encompasses a spectrum of technologies, which brings with it serious responsibility.

I am not an AI builder or AI expert. I am here because I do not want history to repeat itself.

Milan 1880, Milan banned sign language. Modern technology must never erase Deaf people again — this time through invisibility or misrepresentation.

🤟 British Sign Language Is a Full Visual Language

British Sign Language (BSL) is communicated from head to waist, and includes:

• Facial expression

• Multi-channel signs

• Affirmation and negation

• Enumeration

• Classifiers

• Linguistics and grammar

• Handshapes and movement

Any AI system that reduces BSL to hands or text alone fails the language.

🧠 AI for Sign Language Is a Spectrum — Not an Avatar

AI-supported sign language can appear across many interfaces and environments, including:

• Smart glasses

• Watches

• Dash cameras

• Car screens

• Monitors

• Tablets

• Public displays

• Embedded systems

  
  

This is not “AI video on a screen”.It is ambient, contextual, and often invisible technology.

That makes ethics and transparency non-negotiable.

⚠️ High-Risk Concern: Misrepresentation

One of the highest risks in sign-language AI is misrepresentation.

There are already situations where:

• People believe they are seeing AI translation

• When in fact, it is a real human interpreter

• Or the opposite — AI presented as human

This is unacceptable.

🔴 A clear statement must always be shown:

“This translation is provided by AI” or “This translation is provided by a human interpreter”

No exceptions, ambiguity, or silent substitution.

ai-sign-language-spectrum

🧠 Model Choices (Context, Not Hype)

• Detect hand signs → CNN / Vision Transformer (ViT)

• Understand motion → Transformer (preferred over LSTM)

• Translate meaning → LLMs (GPT, LLaMA, etc.)

• Support sign generation → Models across devices (not avatar-only)

• Full system → Vision + Transformer + LLM

Models support communication — they do not replace people.

🔄 Choice Must Always Remain

People must be able to choose:

• Sign Language → Text

• Text → Sign Language

• Human translator

• AI-assisted translation

Choice is accessibility. Choice is dignity.

⚠️ Final Truth

• AI cannot teach Deaf people

• Deaf people teach AI — full stop

• Transparency is not optional

• Accessibility without ethics is harm

  
  

Technology must follow the Deaf community, not define it.

I will share more after the New Year. For now, I am taking a two-week holiday break.