ALS Stole My Father’s Voice. Could We Bring It Back?
I could not cure my dad's disease. But I had worked in tech for years. Maybe I could give him back his voice.
Dad's voice was stolen by ALS, but the reporter's mission was to bring it back. Initially, Dad slurred his words and disliked his voice. He had a passion for singing, often boomed through the house at holidays and weddings. Dad's speech deteriorated as his ALS progressed, but the reporter believed he could still find a way to give him his voice back.
The reporter explored message banks, eye-tracking tools, and brain-computer interfaces, but none were suitable for Dad's condition. Despite the setbacks, the reporter tried creating an AI voice clone using Dad's recorded speech. The clone sounded slightly different from Dad, but the reporter managed to create a cover version of "Always On My Mind" with Instant Dad Clone's voice.
Dad found the cover amusing and even tickled. The reporter concluded that, although the voice clone was not perfect, it still brought back a part of Dad's voice.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
