When Jennifer Wexton rose Thursday to speak on the House floor, something she has done countless times before, the congresswoman used 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 used 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.
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 used 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.
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00:00Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Disability Pride Month,
00:04celebrated each July to commemorate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
00:08It's hard to believe that the ADA will turn 34 years old tomorrow.
00:12I was in college when it passed in 1990.
00:16Today, an entire generation has never known life without the protections that exist
00:20because of the ADA. We have come a long way from
00:24the days when sidewalk curbs would routinely cause insurmountable challenges for
00:28Americans in wheelchairs, and now, when accommodation is the rule,
00:32not the exception. As a new member of the differently-abled community,
00:36I believe it's important not only to celebrate how far we've come,
00:40but also to recognize how far we still have to go. Over the past year,
00:44the fight for disability rights has become a personal one.
00:48My battle with progressive supernuclear palsy, or PSP, has robbed me of my ability
00:52to use my full voice and move around in the ways that I used to.
00:56Rather than striding confidently onto the House floor to vote, I gratefully accept
01:00rides across Independence Avenue, and yes, I get the irony,
01:04from my office to the Capitol. I rely on a walker to get around, and in all likelihood,
01:08before my term ends, I will appear on the House floor for votes in a wheelchair.
01:12I can no longer give the same kind of impassioned, impromptu
01:16speeches during debates on the floor or in committee hearings.
01:20This very impressive AI recreation of my voice does the public speaking for me now.
01:24I found myself understanding firsthand just a fraction of the challenges
01:28that so many Americans live with each day. It's been a big adjustment
01:32for me, for my family, for my team, and for my colleagues who have known me
01:36for years and have had to watch me go through these challenges. But mine is not
01:40a unique story. Millions of Americans face challenges that make it harder
01:44to move, speak, act, or otherwise live their day-to-day
01:48lives. But that disability does not define who they are.
01:52I certainly have not allowed my new challenges to define me.
01:56This is not a situation I would have chosen to find myself in.
02:00I never thought that at my age and otherwise good health, something like PSP could,
02:04in the space of just over a year, rob me of my ability to
02:08speak, run, or dance, and force me to stop doing the job that I love.
02:12I also never expected to be in a position to make history by being the first member
02:16to use an augmentative and alternative communication, AAC,
02:20device on the house floor. I used to be one of those people who hated the sound
02:24of my voice. When my ads came on TV, I would cringe and change the channel.
02:28But you truly don't know what you've got until it's gone, because hearing the new
02:32AI of my old voice for the first time was music to my ears. It was the most
02:36beautiful thing I had ever heard, and I cried tears of joy.
02:40I'm not going to sugarcoat the difficulties that I've faced the past year.
02:44But what has brought me a renewed sense of determination is the opportunity to use this unique
02:48platform to try to help others. I'm not doing it for praise or admiration,
02:52but I do hope that when people see me continuing to do all I can to keep living
02:56my life and doing this job I love as best I can, they understand and appreciate
03:00the courage, resilience, and spirit that so many Americans of
03:04differing abilities demonstrate each and every day. I hope I can be a voice,
03:08even an AI voice, for Americans facing accessibility
03:12challenges and other disabilities, because too often people only
03:16see us for that disability, and in truth, we are so much more.
03:20Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing this Disability
03:24Pride Month and in celebrating the strength and perseverance of the disability
03:28community. I yield back.