When Rep. Jennifer Wexton gave remarks on the House floor Thursday, she spoke using a voice that she and her colleagues thought they鈥檇 never hear again.
After a rare neurological disorder affected her ability to speak, the Virginia Democrat now enlists artificial intelligence to speak using her old voice.
"I can no longer give the same kind of impassioned impromptu speeches during debates on the floor or in committee hearings," Wexton said using assistive technology. "This very impressive AI recreation of my voice does the public speaking for me now."
Wexton flipped her Virginia seat in 2018 as part of that year鈥檚 鈥渂lue wave.鈥� In April of last year, she was diagnosed with Parkinson鈥檚 Disease.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on, it鈥檚 that Parkinson鈥檚 Disease sucks,鈥� she said in a .
Five months later, she : progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disease she describes as "Parkinson's Disease on steroids." She also announced she would not seek reelection.
In May, she began delivering remarks on the House floor .
ElevenLabs, a software company that works to create natural-sounding speech synthesis, reached out to Wexton鈥檚 office with the goal of making a voice model program that sounded like herself, and not the robotic voice associated with the traditional text-to-speech app.
鈥淥ur technology gives individuals who have lost their voice the ability to speak as they once did, with the emotion and passion they feel, and we hoped to help the Congresswoman do just that. She鈥檚 an incredible public servant,鈥� said Sam Sklar of ElevenLabs. 鈥淗elping ensure everyone has a voice is a key focus for us and we hope Rep. Wexton鈥檚 story shows others the possibilities so they can take advantage.鈥�
Wexton鈥檚 staff sent the company more than an hour of her past floor speeches and other public appearances. In just a few days, the company created an AI model that was essentially a clone of Wexton鈥檚 voice before her diagnosis.
鈥淚 used to be one of those people who hated the sound of my voice. When my ads came on TV, I would cringe and change the channel. But you truly don鈥檛 know what you鈥檝e got until it鈥檚 gone,鈥� she said on the House floor Thursday morning. 鈥淏ecause hearing the new AI of my old voice for the first time was music to my ears. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard and I cried tears of joy.鈥�
Wexton used her remarks to commemorate Disability Pride Month.
"My battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP, has robbed me of my ability to use my full voice and move around in the ways that I used to," she said. "Rather than striding confidently onto the House floor to vote, I gratefully accept rides across Independence Avenue 鈥� and yes, I get the irony 鈥� from my office to the Capitol. I rely on a walker to get around, and in all likelihood, before my term ends, I will appear on the House floor for votes in a wheelchair."
Her colleague 鈥� fellow Virginia Democrat Don Beyer 鈥� first heard Wexton鈥檚 resurrected voice about a week ago.
鈥淭o have her voice back through the AI 鈥� and not just a voice but her voice 鈥� is a really wonderful thing,鈥� he told NPR.
Wexton鈥檚 speech Thursday was the first time a voice cloned by AI was used on the House floor 鈥� and comes as Congress itself is .
鈥淲e don鈥檛 like bad deepfakes, but a good deepfake 鈥� which is not really a fake [but] the ability to hear her speak, it鈥檚 just wonderful,鈥� Beyer said.
Wexton said she has a renewed sense of determination to use her platform to help others.
"I hope I can be a voice, even an AI voice, for Americans facing accessibility challenges and other disabilities," Wexton said. "Because too often, people only see us for that disability, and in truth, we are so much more.鈥�
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