The First SLxAI Summit on Sign Language Technology

On April 16 and 17, 2026, Boston University hosted the SLxAI Summit. We brought together researchers, tech companies, Deaf-led organizations, government agencies, and community members to discuss sign language and AI.

Who was in the room

The summit had 220 participants from more than 50 organizations and 14 countries. Most attendees were Deaf. The group also included universities, Deaf-led companies, major tech teams (Amazon, Apple, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, NVIDIA), and government representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, World Federation of the Deaf, and several state commissioners.

We used a single shared program throughout both days. Everyone attended the same sessions, with no parallel tracks. This meant that researchers, technologists, and policy makers all heard directly from Deaf people. Having diverse sectors in the same room expanded the conversation beyond what any one group could generate alone.

Why now

Over the past decade, research on sign language and AI has moved very fast. But very few of these conversations have taken place in Deaf spaces, with Deaf people leading. We needed to create that space.

What we talked about

Day one centered on ethics, trust, and the fundamental questions about how sign language AI is built and used. Presenters addressed who these tools actually work for, how data should be handled, and who holds power when this technology reaches users.

Day two focused on implementation. Presenters shared how to build datasets responsibly, what it means to center Deaf ASL experts in language technology, and how to design with signers rather than for them. International policy representatives, including perspectives from the European Union of the Deaf and the World Federation of the Deaf, connected this work to broader efforts worldwide.

Disabled people are not recipients of your wonderful technology. We are innovators of technologies that benefit everyone. -Dr. Joseph Murray, President of the World Federation of the Deaf

The summit created a space for sign language AI a home base, a place where the field can gather, disagree, and move forward together. It also opened the door to new partnerships with industry that we will build on in the year ahead.

Sign language is not a problem for technology to solve. It is a rich, living language, and Deaf people are leading the way in shaping the tools that use it.