A new paper titled “A Deaf-Centred Art-Science Approach to Community Engagement with Sign Language Technologies” explores the innovative intersection of art and science, particularly focusing on Irish Sign Language (ISL). The research team, including Shaun O’Boyle, Elizabeth Mathews, Caro Brosens, Rehana Omardeen, Davy Van Landuyt, Alvean Jones, and Lianne Quigley, outlines the value of art-science initiatives for engaging communities with emerging sign language technologies.
The paper describes their Science Week 2022 project, which combined Shakespeare and AI to showcase and critique Sign Language Machine Translation (SLMT) technology. Historically, these technologies have been developed without input from deaf communities. However, the SignON project, led by ADAPT at DCU, used a co-creation approach led by the European Union of the Deaf, to ensure the perspectives and input of the deaf and hard of hearing were central to the process.
Through theatre and performance, the project brought together diverse audiences to explore SLMT’s potential and reflect on community feedback.
Access the paper here.
