The Importance of Having a Synthetic Voice

Today on “Post Reports,” how artificial intelligence can re-create voices that may have otherwise been lost to disease.

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When Mark Dyer was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last year, he started on a difficult checklist. He got his will in order; he got set up to receive Social Security and disability benefits. But of all the things Mark had to do to get ready for life with ALS, there was one thing he found himself putting off: voice- and phrase-banking. 

These technologies allow people with ALS, who may eventually lose the ability to speak, to communicate using a recorded, synthetic version of their own voice. And artificial intelligence is allowing ALS patients to sound more like themselves. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to reporter Amanda Morris about the technology that preserves voices that would otherwise be lost to disease. We explore what improvements to this technology mean for the mental health of the patients using synthetic voices.

“We often talk about artificial intelligence in a negative way,” Morris says. “But what I thought was interesting about this story is that we look at some of the positive impacts that artificial intelligence is having on people who have different conditions and disabilities. And, sometimes I think it’s nice to tell a good story.”