Coalition for Sign Language Equity in Technology

Registration is Open!

November 13, 2024 • 8:30am – 4:00pm PST / 11:30am – 7:00pm EST • Berkeley, CA & Remote

AI, Interpreting, and Language Access: A one day hybrid seminar

In-Person Registration
Remote Registration

AI, Interpreting, and Language Access

This seminar provides context to the Guidance on AI and Interpreting Services for using automated interpreting by artificial intelligence (AIxAI). The Guidance prioritizes end users and public safety in four principles that, if followed, will (eventually) generate Safe, Accountable, Fair and Ethical (“SAFE”) interpreting by AI. 

One session in the seminar will review federal law on the use of artificial intelligence for interpreting. Another session will discuss positional misunderstanding, which are misunderstandings based on habits of how to perform structural roles associated with a job (Doerr, 2019). Finally, the Coalition for Sign Language Equity in Technology — formerly the Advisory Group on AI and Sign Language Interpreting — will introduce introductory level AIxAI curricular materials to orient educators and the profession to technological and social/interactional developments, including how to strengthen the value of human interpreters. 

The published Guidance and AIxAI curriculum are influenced and informed as a result of webinars and a symposium hosted by the Advisory Group on AI and Sign Language Interpreting in 2023-2024, which is now called the Coalition on Sign Language Equity in Technology (Co-SET).

Schedule

  • 8:00am Pre-HomeWork for CEUs due before the start of the Seminar. See email from info@deaf-futures.com for details.
  • 8:30am (Pacific Time) In-Person Registration
  • 8:50am Online Zoom opens
  • 9:00am Welcome, Overview of the Day
  • 9:10am Introduction: SAFE AI and Co-SET “Guidance on AI and Interpreting Services” (4 Principles)
  • 9:30am Roundtable 1: What does the law say about AI interpreting?
  • 11:00am Break
  • 11:15am “Digestion Activity” (required for CEUs)
  • 11:30am Preview of AIxAI learning materials for IEPs and grassroots communities
  • 12:00pm LUNCH (with CEU activity)
  • 12:45pm Report Outs (required for CEUs)
  • 1:00pm Roundtable 2: Positional Misunderstanding and Fairness in Interpreted Interaction
  • 2:30pm Break
  • 2:45pm Round up activity/Q&A (required for CEUs)
  • 4:00pm FULL STOP! (Evaluation required for CEUs)

 .6 CEUs (PPO)

Roundtable 1: What does the law say about AI interpreting?

Two attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ) will present an overview of US federal law on the requirements for interpreting for both spoken language and signed language. Panelists will discuss how these laws may or may not apply to interpreting by artificial intelligence (AI). 

Participants:

Photo of Mona Siddiqui, a Brown woman with wavy dark hair in a pink top wiht a black jacket
Mona Siddiqui is a trial attorney in the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section (FCS) of the DOJ Civil Rights Division. FCS enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related authorities that prohibit discrimination by recipients of federal funds based on race and national original origin, including language access, among other protected categories. FCS also implements Executive Order 13166, which requires agencies to ensure access to federally funded programs for individuals with limited English proficiency. Mona’s work includes examining the intersection between artificial intelligence, language access, and discrimination, and providing guidance to agencies on these issues. 
Photo of Ali Szemanski, a woman with wavy brown hair and blue eyes in a grey and white striped top and dark blue jacket.
Ali Szemanski (she/her) is a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division in the Disability Rights Section (DRS).  DRS works to achieve equal opportunity for people with disabilities in the United States by implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and coordinating with federal agencies on the consistent implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504).  DRS also provides technical assistance.  Ali’s work includes investigations and enforcement actions concerning the accessibility of state and local governments’ services, programs, and activities, and public accommodations under the ADA.  
Photo of Victoria "Tori" Smith Ekstrand, a woman with short light brown hair and brown glasses in a blue-green scarf and top.
Victoria “Tori” Smith Ekstrand is a professor at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and recently completed a three-year term at the UNC Graduate School as the Royster Distinguished Professor for Graduate Education, where she directed UNC’s premier doctoral fellowship program. She has been a media law and free expression scholar for more than two decades. Her research focuses on critical and interdisciplinary perspectives in media law and free expression, with research on anonymous speech, campus free expression debates, online accessibility issues for people with disabilities, and problems with regulating online political advertising. Before that, she worked as a senior executive for The Associated Press at its headquarters in New York City.
Photo of Zainab Alkebsi, a Brown woman with curly, dark hair and glasses in a purple top and black jacket.
Zainab Alkebsi serves as the Chief Policy Officer at Deaf Equality, where she leads the organization’s policy efforts for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Late-Deafened communities.
Before joining Deaf Equality, Zainab served as Policy Counsel and Director of the Policy Institute at the National Association of the Deaf.
In her current role, she oversees Deaf Equality’s strategic policy efforts, focusing on systemic changes to ensure greater accessibility and equity for the communities it serves. She regularly interfaces with government agencies, Congress, coalitions, and businesses on behalf of Deaf Equality. Zainab also represents Deaf Equality at conferences, on advisory committees and panels, and through presentations. She also serves as President of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association and Chair of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network.
Zainab holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Photo of Mark Applin, a man with a gray beard in a blue hat with a white fish on it and a light blue shirt.
Mark Applin and Deafax conceptualised and launched Signly – synchronous, in-vision, sign language translations on any webpage for any deaf sign language user. It provides d/Deaf people with equal access to digital information, advice and services.
Photo of Dr. Holly Silvestri, a blue-eyed woman with short blonde hair, wearing a blue and white patterned top and earrings.
Dr. Holly Silvestri has significant experience in the field of translator and interpreter training in addition to running her own language service provider agency as well as freelancing for other agencies and government entities. Currently she works as Senior Coordinator for Translation, Training, and Curriculum at the National Center for Interpretation at the University of Arizona. Her working languages are Spanish, French and English. She is a founding member of American Association of Interpreters and Translators in Education (AAITE.org) as well as Chair of the Public Relations Committee for Stakeholders Advocating for Fair and Ethical AI in Interpreting Task Force (safeaitf.org). She is also a member of the American Translators Association and her state’s professional association Arizona Translators and Interpreters and regularly presents on various topics relevant to the professions for these organizations and others around the United States.
Photo of Eliana Lobo, a woman with short dark hair in a black and white patterned outfit with matching necklace
Eliana Lobo is a ToTTM of medical interpreters, a certified CoreCHI-PTM Portuguese interpreter, and a Washington State DSHS medical interpreter.
An experienced translation/localization supervisor, hospital interpreter services supervisor, National Director of interpreter quality for an LSP, Portuguese/TEFL certified language teacher, and adjunct professor of healthcare interpreting at Highline College in Washington State.
Formerly a CCHI Commissioner (2015-2021), and currently, Standards & Training Committee Chair, NCIHC Board member and President, voice host for the STC’s podcast, “Interpreting in Healthcare”, and creating/producing >65 national webinars to train trainers of medical interpreters with the “Home for Trainers” webinar workgroup, for over a decade.
photo of Joann H. Lee, an Asian woman with straight black hair in a black top and thin silver necklace.
Joann H. Lee, Special Counsel on Language Justice, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)
Joann provides legal services to linguistically marginalized Asian American & Pacific Islander communities, focusing on representing survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking in the areas of family and immigration law. She also conducts language rights advocacy with government entities, including filing administrative complaints and litigation based on civil rights mandates. Joann was appointed to the California Judicial Council Language Access Plan Implementation Task Force from 2015 to 2019, has coordinated local and national language justice advocacy coalitions, and has served on the boards of the Korean American Bar Association, Korean Resource Center, and the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.
photo of Erin Sanders-Sigmon, a Black woman with red braids in a purple outfit
Moderator: Erin Sanders-Sigmon
Region 1 Representative for Mano a Mano, Inc.
Ms. Sanders-Sigmon is a game changer, mentor, deaf & DeafBlind multilingual Interpreter, transliterator, writer, consultant, abolitionist, and survivor of ZOOM Culture. She believes in 360* views, ALL Justices, especially Language, Disability, Transformative, Restorative, Social, and Racial Justice.  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  Ms. Sanders-Sigmon’s lifelong aim is to dismantle all hierarchies, and while uplifting the underrepresented, underserved, also influencing those in a position of privilege. The mission? To unite and create a just environment and spaces that are fully accessible for all walks of life, in the plethora of settings that exist in our current milieu., and finally, passing on that legacy. A just legacy that is sustainable… until the end of time.

Roundtable 2: Positional Misunderstanding and Fairness in Interpreted Interaction

Participants:

photo of Santiago Krsul, a man with very short brown hair and black glasses, wearing a suit and tie
Santiago Krsul serves as Interpreter and Translator for the United States Ambassador to Argentina (Department of State). He is also part of the Pan American Health Organization’s roster of freelance translators.
He earned a degree in Translation and a postgraduate degree in Conference Interpreting from Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”, graduating cum laude in both cases. In addition, he is completing an MA in International Relations at Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA).
He is a member of ADICA (Argentine Association of Conference Interpreters). In the field of translator/interpreter training, he has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad del Salvador (USAL), Universidad de Belgrano (UB), the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA), and interpreting school Estudio Lucille Barnes.
photo of Magdalena Lindner-Juhnke, a white woman with wavy brown hair and glasses wearing a bright blue top.
Magdalena Lindner-Juhnke holds university degrees in conference interpreting for German, English and Spanish from the University of Heidelberg and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She’s been working as a freelance private market conference interpreter for about 15 years and has taught conference interpreting at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences for several years. During the Covid-19 pandemic she founded a small language service agency, now organizing teams of conference interpreters for all kinds of events. She’s been an active member in both the German association for conference interpreters (VKD) and the international association of conference interpreters (AIIC). In 2024, Magda became a member of the AI Workstream of the newly founded AIIC Science Hub, where her focus is on drafting guidance for a responsible use of AI in conference interpreting.
a square photo of Carola E. Morton, a smiling woman with wavy, shoulder-length hair and glasses
Carola E Morton is a federally certified English/Spanish court interpreter. She was key staff for the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination (FCICE) and the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts (CLAC); the first vice-president for the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA); and served with the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC). Carola is an active member of ASTM International’s committee F43 on Language Services and Products and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Joint Working Group 5: Natural Language Processing, and is presently the Acting Chair of the Next Steps Committee for the SAFE-AI Task Force.
Photo of Irina Paramonova, a blonde woman wearing black heaphones and a black top.
Irina Paramonova is the Coordinator of the AIIC Science Hub and Convener of the AI Workstream. A freelance Russian <> English conference and court interpreter since 2001, she works with the IMF, World Bank, NATO, U.S. Department of State, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Voice of America. She holds an MA in Translation and Interpretation from MIIS and an MBA from the University of Maine.
Photo of Stellan Vinthagen, a man with short, dark hair and a brown beard in a red shirt and brown coat.
Dr. Stellan Vinthagen is Professor of Sociology, and the Inaugural Endowed Chair in the Study of Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Resistance at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he directs the Resistance Studies Initiative. He is Editor of the Journal of Resistance Studies, and Co-Leader of the Resistance Studies Group at University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has since 1980 been an educator, organizer and activist, participating in numerous nonviolent civil disobedience actions, for which he has served a total of more than one year in prison. One of his books is A Theory of Nonviolent Action – How Civil Resistance Works (2015).
Photo of Amanda Wheeler-Kay, a smiling, blue-eyed woman with long brown hair wearing a white scarf and light green coat.
Amanda Wheeler-Kay (she/her), Certified Healthcare Interpreter, teacher, lifelong learner. I am a white woman from Oregon whose second language is Spanish.  I have worked as a community/health care interpreter in Portland since 2007; my heart also lives in two other communities I once called home: Washington DC, & Buena Vista, Cuscatlán, El Salvador. I love to travel with friends/family and play noncompetitive soccer. I do my best to “make good trouble, necessary trouble” following the call to action of the late Civil Rights leader and Georgia Congressman John Lewis. I share a home with my stepson and two cats.
photo of Erin Sanders-Sigmon, a Black woman with red braids in a purple outfit
Moderator: Erin Sanders-Sigmon
Region 1 Representative for Mano a Mano, Inc.
Ms. Sanders-Sigmon is a game changer, mentor, deaf & DeafBlind multilingual Interpreter, transliterator, writer, consultant, abolitionist, and survivor of ZOOM Culture. She believes in 360* views, ALL Justices, especially Language, Disability, Transformative, Restorative, Social, and Racial Justice.  Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  Ms. Sanders-Sigmon’s lifelong aim is to dismantle all hierarchies, and while uplifting the underrepresented, underserved, also influencing those in a position of privilege. The mission? To unite and create a just environment and spaces that are fully accessible for all walks of life, in the plethora of settings that exist in our current milieu., and finally, passing on that legacy. A just legacy that is sustainable… until the end of time.

CEU Disclaimer 

Vancro Integrated Interpreting Services (VIIS) is an approved RID CMP sponsor for Continuing Education Activities. This workshop is offered for .6 CEUs in the Power, Privilege and Oppression area with all levels of Content Knowledge. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance. The target audience for this activity is: a mixed general and specialist audience of deaf and hearing people, including interpreters, engineers, advocates, legislators, and anyone who wants to help design AIxAI for the social good.

Cancellation and Refund Policy: No refunds for cancellations, with or without notice. In the highly unlikely event that we need to cancel; funds will be applied to the rescheduled date. 

As always, VIIS is committed to offering educational opportunities free from discrimination and bias. For accommodations contact info@deaf-futures.com 

Planning Team

Lisi Whitworth, Grace Covey, and Molly Glass

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