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How AI is giving motor neurone disease sufferers their old voices back
ElevenLabs is offering patients who are at risk of losing the ability to speak a cloned version of their voice
Poppy Koronka
, Health Correspondent
Friday August 23 2024, 11.00pm, The Times
Iomar Barrett, who has ALS, is “comforted” to know his children will be able to hear him speak even as the disease progresses
SCOTT MORGAN FOUNDATION
Poppy Koronka
, Health Correspondent
Friday August 23 2024, 11.00pm, The Times
When Iomar Barrett was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) this year, there was a strong chance that one day his children would no longer be able to hear him speak.
Now Barrett is “comforted” by a future where his voice will live on as an AI-generated clone, created by ElevenLabs, a speech synthesis software company.
Those with degenerative disorders such as ALS or motor neurone disease who lose the ability to speak can get their “real” voices back and talk with a version of their voice cloned using advanced AI.
Patients at risk of losing their voice will be eligible for the programme from ElevenLabs, developed in partnership with the Scott-Morgan Foundation, a charity supporting those with disabilities through [...]