Maartje De Meulder

I am a deaf scholar and consultant. I combine Deaf Studies, language policy, and the wider social sciences to make sense of how language technologies meet deaf lives – with a particular focus on sign language AI. I am interested in how technological affordances shape language, communication, and access, and how deaf people use these technologies in their everyday lives.

Alongside my academic work, I regularly collaborate with deaf organisations, interpreting professionals, and technology stakeholders to help the think critically about key questions surrounding ethics, access, and governance of language technologies.

Across my work, I aim to build bridges between research, policy and practice: developing concepts and evidence that make sense to deaf communities themselves, while also challenging dominant assumptions about “access” and “inclusion” in tech development, education, and public services.