Researchers and people from the deaf community have teamed up to co-create a sign language machine translation (SLMT) app.

The research team designed a theatrical performance in sign language, seen through the eyes of artificial intelligence (AI).

“Historically, deaf people have been excluded from the development of automatic translation technologies,” explains Shaun O’Boyle, Research Fellow in the School of Inclusive and Special Education (Dublin City University DCU).

“This has often caused backlash and resistance from deaf communities, as the projects were designed and developed without any input from the very end-users they intended to serve—resulting in a technology no one wanted to use and a big waste of money,” adds Davy Van Landuyt, Project Manager at the European Union of the Deaf (EUD).

For this research, the team decided to reverse the standard approach, with O’Boyle, Van Landuyt, and the other partners of the European project SignON —including the Vlaams GebarentaalCentrum (Flemish Sign Language Centre) — asking participants “If we were to introduce an AI to Shakespeare texts in Irish Sign Language, which extracts would we choose first?

This engagement with the AI allowed them to connect with the audience and gather their opinions about the technology.

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Full article: https://www.htworld.co.uk/news/deaf-communities-co-design-sign-language-translation-app/