Woman Uses AI-powered Phone App To Act As Her 'Voice' After Losing Speech To Brain Tumor

“It’s almost like a part of my identity was taken when I lost my voice,” Alexis told the Associated Press. “At some point, I was starting to forget what I sounded like.”?In 2023, Alexis "Lexi" Bogan life changed forever when doctors discovered a life-threatening tumor growing at the back of her brain. Come August, the tumor was removed, but the breathing tube that was removed a month later left Alexis with other problems - she could barely swallow, and worse still, barely say "hi" to her parents.

What happened to Alexis?

“It’s almost like a part of my identity was taken when I lost my voice,” Alexis said | Image: AP

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Alexis was a typical 20-year-old last year, belting out her favourite songs while driving her car and taking part in discussions where her voice was the loudest. After the tumor was discovered and removed, it took months and months of rehabilitation to even get to a milestone mark in recovery. Sadly, her speech was still impaired, and her loved ones couldn't understand what she was trying to say.

“It’s almost like a part of my identity was taken when I lost my voice,” Alexis?told AP. “At some point, I was starting to forget what I sounded like.”??

How did she "get her voice back?"

Today, she is able to use a synthetic, AI-powered voice clone, housed in an app on her smartphone | Image: AP

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Things started to look up in April of 2024. Today, she is able to use a synthetic, AI-powered voice clone, housed in an app on her smartphone. According to AP, the voice clone, "trained on a 15-second time capsule of her teenage voice (sourced from a cooking demonstration video she recorded for a high school project)" has given her her life back.?

She types a few words or sentences into her phone and the app instantly reads it aloud.

At a Starbucks drive-thru, for instance, Alexis types what she wants to say on the app: "Hi, can I please get a grande iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso."

A team of doctors at Rhode Island’s Lifespan Hospital Group were able to recreate Alexis' voice with OpenAI’s new Voice Engine.?

“We’re hoping Lexi’s a trailblazer as the technology develops,” said Dr Rohaid Ali, a neurosurgery resident at Brown University’s medical school and Rhode Island Hospital. "Millions of people with debilitating strokes, throat cancer or neurogenerative diseases could benefit," he said.

“We should be conscious of the risks, but we can’t forget about the patient and the social good,” said Dr Fatima Mirza | Image: AP

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“We should be conscious of the risks, but we can’t forget about the patient and the social good,” said Dr Fatima Mirza, another resident working on the pilot. “We’re able to help give Lexi back her true voice and she’s able to speak in terms that are the most true to herself.” Dr Mirza's words add to the ongoing debate when it comes to the ethics of artificial intelligence.?

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