AI Restores Voices to the Silenced
Artificial intelligence is now capable of returning the lost ability to speak to individuals. This technology's applications extend beyond living patients to include, for instance, victims of crimes who are no longer with us.
In 2018, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Parkland, Florida, USA, committed one of the deadliest shootings in American history. Heeding "demon commands," Cruz brought a semi-automatic sporting rifle to the school and killed 17 people.
Cruz was abandoned by his mother at birth and orphaned a second time after his adoptive parents died. The future murderer felt unwell and sought psychiatric help but never completed treatment. Despite this, Cruz legally purchased the rifle used in the massacre, having passed all necessary checks. In 2022, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Nikolas Cruz — A Disturbed Murderer Source: Wikipedia
Seventeen-year-old student Joaquin Oliver, who was killed in the school's hallway, and other victims of Nikolas Cruz, became part of The Shotline online campaign. The project organizers sought to alert authorities to the issue of uncontrolled firearm sales using an innovative and effective method. Starting in February 2024, lawmakers' offices began receiving phone calls, with AI-recreated voices of the victims asking what has been done to halt mass shootings in American schools.
I’m back today because my parents used AI to recreate my voice to call you. Other victims like me will be calling too, again and again, to demand action,says AI Joaquin.
The initiative was implemented by the creative communications agency MullenLowe, with AI trained on audio clips provided by the victims' families. Visitors to The Shotline project's website can select one of the AI-generated voice messages to be sent to a specific lawmaker.
Grieving for Joaquin Oliver Source: AP
AI technology is also aiding individuals fighting severe illnesses by restoring their ability to engage in full communication.
Patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), for example, face a gradual loss of muscle function that makes speech unintelligible. However, AI allows those around them to hear their normal voice, unaffected by the disease. For patients, their new computer-generated voice offers stability and strengthens their connection with loved ones.
An ALS Patient Communicates Using AI Source: The Washington Post
To create a believable voice, the system analyzes speech samples provided by the client. Typically, several hundred sentences are needed, but some companies need fewer. Acapela Group, for example, has algorithms that can create a digital voice from as few as fifty client phrases. AI then searches databases for voices similar to the sample in tone, pace, and other characteristics. Taking into account the patterns found, AI compiles sounds closely matching the client's original speech.
Companies storing and reproducing human voices have been on the market for decades. However, the mass adoption of artificial intelligence has significantly lowered the cost of voice banking. For instance, Acapela Group's services, once costing $3000, now, thanks to AI, have seen prices drop by a third. Some developers offer AI voices for just $300. The democratization of digital voice prices could greatly enhance many people's lives, as voice banking benefits not only ALS patients but also those with cancer, cerebral palsy, or Parkinson’s disease.
While the potential risks of AI technology are a subject of broad discussion, with some concerns about its rapid deployment undoubtedly founded, the examples we've provided demonstrate the profound and genuinely human benefits artificial intelligence can offer.
