Senior researcherHU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

I’m a deaf researcher working on sign languages, interpreting and AI.

I study how language gets mediated by interpreters and machines, and what each of these does to deaf people and their languages.

Portrait of Maartje De Meulder

What I work on

Ongoing

Interpreting as an institution

What interpreting does to sign languages and deaf people, instead of assuming it is a given good.

Current focus

AI in signed interaction

What changes when machines become actors in signed conversations, and how these tools should be governed.

Selected publications

All publications →
2026 From interpreter to algorithm? Language ideologies, access labour, and (in)dependency in Deaf-AI interactionsASSETS ’26 · with Angelini, Tran & Spiel 2025 Speculating Deaf Tech: Reimagining technologies centering deaf peopleCHI ’25 · with Angelini & Spiel · Best Paper Award 2025 Deaf in AI: AI language technologies and the erosion of linguistic rightsLanguage and Law 12(1) · Open Access 2024 Systemic biases in sign language AI research: A deaf-led call to reevaluate research agendasLREC-COLING 2024 · with Desai, Hochgesang, Kocab & Lu

Talks, advice and media enquiries

maartjedemeulder@gmail.com I usually reply within 2–3 business days.