Brain Implant Lets Man with ALS Speak and Sing with His ‘Real Voice’

image via New Scientist

June 12, 2025, 12:00 PM

• •A brain-computer interface (BCI) enables a man with ALS to speak and sing with his "real voice."
• •The system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to decode the participant’s electrical brain activity in real time.
• •The BCI reproduces not only a person’s intended words but also features of natural speech such as tone, pitch and emphasis.
• •The synthetic voice mimics the participant’s own, expressing interjections and made-up words.

A new brain-computer interface has allowed a man with ALS to speak and sing with his own voice by translating his neural activity into words almost instantly. The device uses artificial intelligence to decode the participant's electrical brain activity and reproduce his intended words, along with natural speech features like tone and emphasis. The system’s synthetic voice mimics the man's own voice, allowing him to express interjections, answer questions, and say whatever he wants using a dynamic vocabulary. The technology represents a significant advancement over previous brain-computer interfaces, and the study participant reported feeling happy to hear his real voice again.

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