AI voice for ALS: Artificial intelligence helped April Kerner regain her voice after it was taken away

When April Kerner first started losing her voice, she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to communicate with her family again.

The disease, diagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), affected not only Kerner's mobility but also his ability to speak.

But thanks artificial intelligence The 42-year-old said she can communicate successfully using a program that resembles her old voice.

“The first time I heard it, I cried because it really was my voice,” Kerner, a mother of three, told ABC News.

Kellner's symptoms began in April 2022, when she started feeling weakness in her right leg. The following month, on Mother's Day, she celebrated her first fall.

April and her husband, Bill Kerner, visited numerous doctors over the next few months, including an orthopedic surgeon, a spine doctor, and several neurologists, before receiving the ALS diagnosis three days after Christmas in December 2022. .

ALS is a neurological disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movements and breathing.

When nerve cells called motor neurons degenerate, they are no longer able to send messages to muscles. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, this causes muscles to become weak and debilitated.

ALS patients eventually lose control over voluntary movements such as walking, speaking, and chewing, as well as breathing. The Institute of Neurological Disorders said ALS is a progressive disease, meaning symptoms worsen over time.

April and Bill Kerner said the news came as a shock to them.

“We knew something was going on, but we always hoped it would be fixed by November.” [2022]“She couldn't walk, so I was hoping it was something other than ALS, really,” Bill said. Our children are very young. I mean, that was two years ago, so they were four and five years old at the time. ”

One of the first things the Kerners did after receiving their diagnosis was to move from their home in Frederick, Maryland, to Orlando, Florida in April 2023 with their three children (Riker, Ava, and Jax) to make memories. It was a trip to Walt Disney World. before April begins to lose more limb function.

By May 2023, April began to lose her voice. The following month, she developed respiratory failure and had to have a trachea inserted, causing her to lose her voice completely.

As they searched for a way for April Kerner to continue communicating, the Kerner family learned about Eleven Labs, an AI audio research and implementation company focused on creating human-like text-to-speech programs. Ta.

Bill Kerner said the company asked the couple if they could send a recording of her voice. Using AI, Eleven Labs created a voice program that closely resembles April Kerner's original voice, rather than the robotic voice you typically hear in traditional text-to-speech programs. April Kerner types what she wants to say with her eyes, and the program generates the audio.

The program is not perfect. For example, the Kerners say the rhythm of the audio replica is a little slower. But it's the closest thing to her original voice they've heard.

“It's amazing. This is her actual voice,” Bill Kerner said. “We never thought we'd hear her real voice again. It means so much. … This terrible disease took away from her, and we never thought it would ever happen again.” She gave us a part of her that we didn't have, and for that we are so grateful.”

The Kerners said their children love listening to April's AI voice communicate with them and read bedtime stories to them.

“They love it. When they heard mommy's voice again for the first time, they all started jumping up and down… They got excited when they heard mommy's voice,” Bill Kerner said. “And the kids love the stories she creates. They come together. We have story time. They get excited.”

April said her favorite part of the AI ​​voice is also being able to tell her children bedtime stories.

“I can't sit down and read regular books to my kids anymore, so this is a way for us to connect,” she said.

Bill Kerner added that one of the things that bothers his wife the most is her inability to move, such as not being able to hold her children without help, but thanks to the AI ​​voice, she has regained some independence. Ta.

April Kerner is currently on a ventilator and a feeding tube, which she says makes every day a struggle. But she hopes that by sharing her story, she can spread the word about ALS and its debilitating effects.

“Despite the challenges we face, I am determined to continue fighting for my family and being there for my children,” she said. “They are my motivation to keep going, even on the most difficult days.”

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News, the ABC station, and an investor in Eleven Labs.