Virginia Rep. Wexton uses AI-generated voice as his disease affects speech

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STERLING, VA – OCTOBER 30: Virginia State Senator and candidate for U.S. House of Representatives Jennifer Wexton (D) speaks during a rally at Wexton’s campaign headquarters on October 30, 2018 in Sterling, Virginia. Candidate Wexton is pictured in a cl

Virginia Democratic Representative Jennifer Wexton unveiled her “new/old AI voice” for the first time on Wednesday.

“You may think your ears are deceiving you right now. I assure you, that is not the case,” Wexton said in a video posted on social media.

Last year, Wexton announced that she had been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which she described as “Parkinson’s disease on steroids,” adding that the disease had affected the volume and clarity of her speech.

That’s why she’s been using a text-to-speech app to communicate in recent months, including on the House floor. But now, after creating an artificially intelligent model of her voice based on a collection of her past public speeches, Wexton’s own voice is, in a sense, back.

“I hope that this new step of introducing an AI language model can also be an opportunity to start a discussion about new and creative ways we can continue to help people facing health issues like mine, and show that our abilities do not define who we are,” Wexton said.

“It was, I mean, groundbreaking. It sent shivers down my spine,” replied Rich Spain, the development director of CurePSPa nonprofit organization that has worked with Wexton and many others in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases.

“When I watched her video,” Spain said, “it was obvious how much it empowered her, and I think about it, and I know we here at CurePSP will think about how it could positively empower countless others in our community. When she said, ‘life-changing opportunities to hear my new/old AI voice,’ I thought, ‘That’s incredible to hear.'”

You can watch Wexton’s full video Here.