When Jennifer Wexton rises Thursday to speak on the House floor, something she has done countless times before, the congresswoman will be using a voice she thought was gone forever.
After a rare neurological disorder robbed her of her ability to speak clearly, Wexton has been given her voice back with the help of a powerful artificial intelligence program, allowing the Virginia Democrat to make a clone of her speaking voice using old recordings of speeches and appearances she made as a congresswoman. She will use that program to deliver what is believed to be the first speech on the House floor ever given via a voice cloned by artificial intelligence.
“It was a special moment that I never imagined could happen. I cried happy tears when I first heard it,” Wexton told The Associated Press in the first interview she’s participated in since attaining her new voice.
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