The AI Voice Replica That Allowed a Hospitalized Man to Speak Again

The article discusses the use of an AI voice replica to allow a hospitalized man, Pat Quintero, to communicate again after losing his ability to speak due to a rare illness. Quintero’s voice was recreated using recordings of his past voice, allowing him to communicate through a text-to-speech system. The AI voice replica was created by a Canadian company called Vocal ID, which specializes in creating personalized synthetic voices. The process involved analyzing Quintero’s past recordings and using machine learning algorithms to recreate his unique vocal characteristics. The article highlights the potential of AI voice replicas to help people with speech impairments communicate more naturally and maintain their identity. However, it also raises ethical concerns about the technology’s potential for misuse, such as creating fake audio clips. Overall, the article presents AI voice replicas as a promising assistive technology that can improve the quality of life for people with speech disabilities, while acknowledging the need for responsible development and use of the technology.

Source: https://time.com/6977375/ai-voice-replica-illness/