Medicine
fromwww.bbc.com
1 week ago'My new AI voice keeps my personality alive'
AI technology enables a motor neurone disease patient to communicate using a reconstructed version of her own voice, restoring personal identity and family connection.
The character first appeared in 2006, in the second series of the show, as a one-off visitor to the fictional Seattle Grace hospital, to which his former best friend, the neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (played by Patrick Dempsey), had moved following Mark's affair with his wife. Mark's flirting with Derek's new girlfriend, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), leads his old pal to punch him in the face.
An initiative by a UK-based charity, supported by technology companies and universities, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital twin that allows people with communications disabilities to speak in a natural way. The technology, known as VoxAI, represents a step-change from the computer-assisted voice used by late physicist Stephen Hawking, one of the first well-known public figures with motor neurone disease (MND).
Kyle Sieniawski, 14, from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, died on 27 November, after being diagnosed less than a year ago with MND. The disease typically affects people aged over 50, and Kyle is believed to be the youngest person to have died with MND in the UK. Former rugby league star Kevin Sinfield, who is currently running seven ultramarathons in seven days for MND awareness, told Kyle's family the "community" will be there for them, and Kyle "will always be remembered".
Chef Gearóid Lynch’s journey with motor neurone disease (MND) underscores that a diagnosis can hold different meanings, and there can be hope beyond the expected.