AI Helps Rep. Wexton Reclaim Her Voice After Neurological Disease

When Rep. Jennifer Wexton spoke on the House floor Thursday, she did so using a voice that she and her colleagues thought they’d never hear again. The Virginia Democrat, who lost her ability to speak due to a rare neurological disorder, now uses artificial intelligence to recreate her old voice.

Diagnosis and Challenges

Wexton, who flipped her Virginia seat in 2018, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in April last year. Five months later, her diagnosis was modified to progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare and severe brain disease. She announced she would not seek reelection and began using text-to-speech technology to deliver remarks on the House floor in May.

AI Voice Recreation

ElevenLabs, a software company specializing in natural-sounding speech synthesis, reached out to Wexton’s office to create a voice model that sounded like her original voice, avoiding the robotic tone of traditional text-to-speech apps. Using over an hour of her past speeches and public appearances, ElevenLabs developed an AI model that accurately replicated Wexton’s voice.

Emotional Impact

“I used to be one of those people who hated the sound of my voice,” Wexton said. “But you truly don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Because 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.”

Historic First in Congress

Wexton’s speech on Thursday marked the first time a voice cloned by AI was used on the House floor, coinciding with Congress's ongoing discussions on regulating artificial intelligence. Her colleague, Rep. Don Beyer, expressed his admiration for the technology, stating, “To have her voice back through the AI — and not just a voice but her voice — is a really wonderful thing.”

Advocacy and Determination

Wexton used her remarks to commemorate Disability Pride Month and to express her determination to help others facing accessibility challenges. “I hope I can be a voice, even an AI voice, for Americans facing accessibility challenges and other disabilities,” she said. “Because too often, people only see us for that disability, and in truth, we are so much more.”