A Neurological Disorder Stole Her Voice. Jennifer Wexton Took It Back With AI on the House Floor
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.