From the UN Stage: Why 'Nothing About Us Without Us' Must Drive AI Accessibility

Written by Travis Dougherty, CEO of GoSign.AI

Yesterday, I had the honor of representing Migam.ai as Product Owner for North America and as CEO of GoSign.AI at the United Nations HQ in NYC during the COSP18 side event, “AI and Access: Promising for Deaf Communities?”—co-hosted with the Permanent Mission of Belgium.

It was a privilege to share the stage with:

• H.E. Mr. Rob Beenders 🇧🇪, Minister of Consumer Protection, Disabilities & Equal Opportunities, Belgian Federal Government

• Dr. Joseph Murray, President, World Federation of the Deaf

• Mr. Hiroshi Tamon, CRPD Committee Member

• Mr. Sam Sepah, Lead AI Accessibility at Google

• Ms. Tiina Van Hoorebeke, Executive Director, Doof Vlaanderen

• Mr. Thomas Dabeux, Advocacy Coordinator, Belgian Disability Forum (BDF)

• Many thanks to our interpreters.

My introduction presentation:

Hi everyone, I’m Travis Dougherty, Product Owner for North America at Migam.ai and CEO of GoSign.ai. As a Deaf leader, technologist, and parent, I spend my days (and, let’s be honest, a lot of nights) thinking about how to make real communication access possible for Deaf people everywhere.

About me: I’m based in DC, I use ASL as my primary language, and I’m deeply involved in building technology that’s actually designed with, and for, Deaf communities. My career has been about closing gaps in accessibility, whether it’s through advocacy, product design, or just pushing teams to ask better questions about who’s at the table.

That’s where Migam.ai and GoSign.ai comes in.

Migam.ai is working to bring accessible sign language AI tools worldwide, but we’re not just interested in adding another tech product to the pile. Our team is committed to doing things differently. For us, ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ is a rule, not a slogan. Every step of our process, we’re making sure Deaf experts, Deaf-led organizations, and Deaf users are part of the design, the decision-making, and the leadership. That means listening, co-creating, and sometimes even throwing out our original ideas when Deaf users say, ‘This isn’t right for us.’

We know the risks: if you don’t build with community, you end up with tools that don’t work, or worse, do harm. There’s no shortcut to trust. And there shouldn’t be. That’s why Migam.ai partners with GoSign.ai to work with local Deaf communities in every country where we work, supports multiple sign languages (not just ASL) and pushes for real policy changes at the international level. Our goal isn’t just tech for tech’s sake. It’s tech that moves the needle on actual inclusion and equity.

We’re seeing some progress in institutions, like governments are recognizing sign languages, the UN is talking more about accessibility, and new AI tools are being piloted. But let’s be real: Deaf leadership and involvement still isn’t the norm. We need to shift from consultation to collaboration to co-ownership. That’s what we’re working for.

I’m excited to join this conversation to make sure the solutions we build together are ones that Deaf people actually want to use.