Cloned voice keeps TCU faculty member connected

Our voice may be the be most effective way we have to communicate - for work, for social interaction, for human connection. And when we lose it through overuse or illness, it's like we've lost a part of ourselves.

"I'm not one who does not enjoy the opportunity to interact," said Ed Riefenstahl, a faculty member at the in Fort Worth who is slowly losing his ability to speak.

A fall from a ladder in 2021 caused a traumatic brain injury.

Two years later, Riefensthal was diagnosed with bulbar palsy, a neurological condition that weakens the muscles used for speaking and swallowing. Of the 15 symptoms, he currently has nine. His condition may deteriorate, and he knows there is no cure; a devastating reality for a man who loves interacting with his students and corporate clients.

"I feel I have so much to offer. It's still there," he said.

As a man who likes to learn, Riefenstahl started searching for alternative speech solutions.

It eventually led him to ElevenLabs, a company in New York that uses artificial intelligence to generate speech.

ElevenLabs used recordings of his voice from before the injury to create a custom voice clone that captured his natural cadence and tone.

Riefenstahl types what he wants to say into software loaded on his own devices, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The software then speaks those words aloud, in his natural speaking voice.

Through his cloned voice, Riefenstahl told 온라인카지노사이트 5, "I could only find five pieces of audio and not one was longer than one minute to send ElevenLabs. I was told that they only were able to use two of the five and you now can hear more or less exactly how I used to sound even with pauses and hums."

It did not cost Riefensthal a cent.

See more

ElevenLabs is on a mission to help a million people reclaim their voice and like Riefensthal, at no cost.

In a statement to 온라인카지노사이트 5, Sophia Noe,l who leads the company's impact program, wrote:

"Our voice is a core part of who we are—losing it can feel like losing a piece of ourselves. Ed came to us with a clear goal: To keep teaching and to communicate as his authentic self. With his audio samples and permission, we built his voice model in under a day. Since then, we’ve stayed in touch, making sure it works smoothly across devices and continues to improve—so Ed can show up as his full self, every day."

"You know it has changed my life. It has changed your life," Riefenstahl said.

Technology cloned his voice so Rieferefeinsthal can continue to do what he loves: connecting to others.

To get information about ElevenLabs, its Impact Program and a link where people can reach out to get free access and support in creating their voice clone, click .