From PBS
A neurological disorder took Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s voice. AI helped her bring it back to the House floor
By Dan Merica
When Jennifer Wexton rose Thursday to speak on the House floor, something she has done countless times before, the congresswoman used a voice she thought was gone forever.
After a rare neurological disorder robbed her of her ability to speak clearly, Wexton has been given her voice back with the help of a powerful artificial intelligence program, allowing the Virginia Democrat to make a clone of her speaking voice using old recordings of speeches and appearances she made as a congresswoman. She used that program to deliver what is believed to be the first speech on the House floor ever given via a voice cloned by artificial intelligence...
Hany Farid, a professor and digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said Wexton’s example is the exception to the numerous nefarious uses for voice cloning technology.
“I found it really moving… and I am all for this application,” he said. “But I just want to emphasize, just because there are these really beautiful stories… doesn’t mean we should just ignore the pretty nasty things with these technologies...”
Hany Farid is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences and the School of Information at UC Berkeley.
