The BDA today releases a Discussion Paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI) British Sign Language (BSL) to stimulate wider understanding of both the substantial opportunities and significant risks that will come with AI signing.
You can find the Discussion Paper here in English and BSL: bda.org.uk/ai-bsl-discussion-paper
As the national representative organisation of BSL and Irish Sign Language in the UK, the BDA is both excited and concerned about the potential use of AI to produce materials and services in BSL. On one hand, we applaud the opportunities to translate written English to BSL at scale. On the other hand, we are concerned about the consequences of inaccurate or inappropriate AI output, for example in medical or legal consultations.
And we fear what AI BSL might mean for our rich linguistic diversity, a significant element in shaping our identities, of which members of the BSL community are proud. BSL has a long history of attempts by well-meaning but ill-informed English speakers to remodel it along the lines of English language principles or to eradicate regional variations intrinsic to our language.
BSL also features language patterns associated with different age-groups. Risks may stem from the potential for race and ethnic bias in the samples upon which AI systems are trained; under-representation or mishandling of variation associated with LGBTQI++ populations; and all other forms of social variation that form the dynamic tapestry of the national BSL community as a whole.
There are about 87,000 BSL signers in the UK. There is growing activity in academia and industry to explore and develop forms of AI BSL but the broader BSL community has not been meaningfully involved or able to lead on such initiatives. The BDA receives many requests to partner on AI BSL projects even from businesses whose leaders can’t sign and know nothing about our language.
The human professions of BSL/English translation and interpreting took many years to become established and are subject, by hard-earned consensus, to frameworks of ethics, standards and practice in place since the 1980s. These protect the interests of all concerned and minimise harm and malpractice.
Dr Robert Adam, Chair of the BDA, said, “Our members call for urgent attention to protect our language. We call upon the AI sector and the Government to rethink carefully their responsibilities and ethical duties when it comes to developing resources and services using artificial signing. If Deaf people are not consulted meaningfully, the risk is immense and potentially catastrophic for our community.
“An Act of Parliament, passed as recently as 2022, established in law that BSL must be protected and signers’ interests must be promoted. As a matter of principle, we expect all stakeholders in this field to recognise that it is appropriate to empower Deaf BSL signers as primary decision-makers in all matters relating to our language and community. This goes to the very heart of our identity.”
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MEDIA CONTACT
Julia Esse
Head of Communications and Fundraising
E: julia.esse@bda.org.uk
T: 07939933129
