AI offers limitless potential for those with disabilities

ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that impacts a person’s ability to move, speak, swallow and even breathe. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, can be debilitating to those who suffer from it.

Google has acknowledged this problem. And as such, the search giant has teamed up with ALS Therapy Development Institute to help those with ALS communicate better with the people around them. Tim Shaw, a former linebacker in the NFL, has ALS. In fact, it was the reason why his performance deteriorated overtime, which eventually led to him being cut from his team.

Project Euphonia is a research project that aims to use AI to improve communication for people who have impaired speech caused by neurologic conditions. Tim’s journey with ALS is showcased in the new YouTube Originals learning Series”The Age of A.I.” hosted by Robert Downey Jr.

Through the use of several past interview recordings of Tim, the DeepMind, Google AI and Project Euphonia teams created tools. These were then used to create a voice that resembles Tim’s, before his speech degraded. Now, he will be able to converse better with others, and even read out a letter he had written to his younger self.

In said letter, Tim tells his younger self to “wake up every day and choose to make a positive impact on other people”. Like it did for Tim, artificial intelligence can provide valuable assistance to those with speech or hearing problems. Right now, with what AI can presently do, we are only scratching the surface. In time it has the potential to offer almost limitless possibilities.

Photo Credit: Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels