"Nothing about us without us": Perspectives of Global Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Community Members on Sign Language Technologies

2025-12-09

AI Summary

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) communities in the Global South and non-Western contexts have long been excluded from the design and governance of sign language technologies, resulting in systemic barriers—including limited accessibility, cultural erasure, and diminished epistemic and decisional autonomy. This study employs an intercontinental, community-led, multilingual mixed-methods approach, integrating online surveys, in-depth interviews, and cross-cultural thematic analysis, while incorporating multidimensional modeling of deaf identity, sign language proficiency, and policy engagement. It introduces, for the first time, an ethics framework and co-governance principles centered on sustained, deep DHH participation across the technology lifecycle, revealing critical tensions between technological trust and skepticism. The research yields 12 actionable recommendations for researchers, engineers, and policymakers to advance decolonial, inclusive sign language technology development.

Technology Category

• Natural Language Processing: Ethics — Bias, Fairness, Transparency & Privacy
• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Bias, Fairness & Equity

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Social and technical mechanisms of refusal for web technologies and applications
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness and ethical considerations in crowd work and in human-in-the-loop AI systems
• Security and Privacy: Privacy-enhancing technologies

Abstract

There is accelerating interest in sign language technologies (SLTs), with increasing attention from both industry and academia. However, the perspectives of Deaf and Hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals remain marginalized in their development, particularly those outside of the West and in the global South. This paper presents findings from a global, multilingual survey capturing community views on SLTs across a wide range of countries, sign languages, and cultural contexts. While participants recognized the potential of SLTs to support access and independence, many expressed concerns about cultural erasure, inaccurate translation, and hearing-dominated research pipelines. Perceptions of SLTs were shaped by factors including sign language proficiency, policy exposure, and deaf identity. Across regions, participants emphasized the importance of DHH-led design, citing the risk of harm when DHH communities are excluded from technological decision-making. This study offers a novel cross-continental, community-informed analysis of SLTs and concludes with actionable recommendations for researchers, technologists, and policymakers.

Problem

• Addresses Deaf community exclusion in sign language tech development
• Examines global concerns about cultural erasure and inaccurate translations
• Advocates for Deaf-led design to prevent harm in technology decisions

Innovation

• Global survey capturing DHH community perspectives on sign language technologies
• Emphasizes DHH-led design to avoid harm from exclusion in development
• Provides actionable recommendations for inclusive research and policy