This Quebec man is losing his voice. An AI tool is helping bring it back to life

Dr. Alec Cooper, a family doctor from Victoria, finds himself in a Quebec City studio, leaning into a small microphone, reading Shakespeare’s famous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy from Hamlet. As he recites the dramatic lines, he pauses, takes a breath, and reflects on the profound themes of life and death portrayed in the play.

Cooper’s life took an unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal motor neuron disease. Initially given an average life expectancy of two to five years, Cooper decided to retire from his practice and focus on preparing for the challenges ahead. He has been renovating his house to make it wheelchair accessible and spending time recording his voice using AI-powered technology by ElevenLabs.

The AI tool allows Cooper to clone his voice, preserving his natural tone and inflection for when the disease progresses further and he may need to rely on text-to-speech devices. By inputting a small amount of audio, the technology generates a voice clone that sounds like him, ensuring that his voice will not be lost to the progression of ALS.

Cooper’s friend, Dr. Jean-Pierre Canuel, who has been living with ALS for 11 years, serves as an inspiration to him. Despite the challenges of the disease, Canuel remains active, driving an adapted van, gardening, and pursuing his hobbies. However, the progression of ALS has limited Canuel’s ability to speak, emphasizing the importance of preserving one’s voice through technology like AI voice cloning.

The use of AI voice cloning in ALS patients is still relatively new but has the potential to significantly improve their quality of life. By equipping patients with devices that can generate words and sentences in their own voice, speech language pathologists like Sophie Dupont are helping them communicate more effectively as the disease progresses.

Dustin Blank, from ElevenLabs, highlights the power of AI voice technology in preserving the voices and legacies of individuals living with degenerative diseases. The company’s impact program aims to make this technology accessible to those who need it most while prioritizing security and privacy measures to protect users’ voices.

For Cooper and his wife Sylvie Barma, the recording process serves as a reminder of the challenges they will face as his health deteriorates. While Barma finds solace in her garden when she hears Cooper recording at home, she acknowledges that the AI voice cloning process will ultimately be a legacy that preserves his voice for the future.

As Cooper continues to navigate life with ALS, he remains determined to confront the disease with courage and resilience, drawing inspiration from Canuel and embracing the possibilities offered by AI voice technology. With each recording, he is creating a lasting testament to his voice and his identity, ensuring that his words will endure long after ALS has taken its toll.