Valary Atieno

Valary Atieno is a Master's student in Computer Science at Maseno University and a Research Associate at MCAAI, where she is a core team member of the AI4KSL project — MCAAI's AI powered Kenyan Sign Language production system — and a committed advocate for disability inclusion in African AI development.

Valary contributes to the AI4KSL project across multiple dimensions: she assists with the curation and annotation of the sign language video dataset, participates in model evaluation sessions with deaf community representatives, and helps to design the user interface components of the KSL avatar system to ensure they meet the accessibility needs of deaf and hard of hearing users. Her work is informed by direct engagement with deaf schools and disability advocacy organisations in Western Kenya, whose feedback shapes the design priorities of the AI4KSL system.

Beyond AI4KSL, Valary is a vocal champion for disability inclusion as a research priority within MCAAI and Maseno University more broadly. She has presented on the topic at university seminars and student conferences, making the case that AI systems designed without consideration for disability inclusion risk compounding existing inequalities in digital access.

Valary is supervised by Dr. Samwel Oonge and works in close collaboration with Ezekiel Maina on the technical aspects of the AI4KSL system. Her research interests are increasingly focused on the design of participatory methodologies for co creating AI tools with disability communities, rather than designing for them without their direct input.