Quebec woman with ALS hears her own voice again thanks to AI app

Anne-Marie Poirier, a woman from Quebec living with ALS, now hears her own voice again, thanks to an AI-powered app called Vocality. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurological disorder that gradually robs patients of their ability to speak, swallow, and eventually breathe. Poirier first noticed symptoms in August 2024, but it wasn't until October 2025 that she lost her voice entirely. Since then, she has relied on communication applications to interact with her family and loved ones.

Vocality, developed by Montreal-based entrepreneurs Thomas Houlachi and David Ruiz, allows users to input a few keywords and generate complete sentences that sound like the user's own voice. The app uses recordings of the user's speech to create a synthetic voice, which can speak aloud generated sentences. Users can also customize frequently used phrases and even have the app listen to conversations and suggest responses based on what others are saying.

Poirier finds the app empowering, describing it as "so much simpler, more intuitive" than other communication tools she has used. With Vocality, even simple conversations become less of a struggle, as the app reduces the time and effort required to type out messages. The application is compatible with eye-tracking equipment, which allows users with limited mobility to select words and phrases using their eyes.

Vocality has already received support from ALS Québec and Polytechnique Montréal's technology incubator, Polytechnique Montréal. The founders have raised over $150,000 through fundraising and contest prizes. As the application continues to evolve and help people living with ALS maintain their voice and communicate more effectively, it offers hope and renewed joy for those facing a life-changing diagnosis.