Aishwarya Gogi Week 1: The Magic of AI in Restoring Identity

 A paralyzed woman attempting to speak

    Photo by Noah Berger via UCSF.

Since childhood, I was only able to connect with one of my grandparents. However, he could not hear or comprehend what I would say to him. Growing up in the Bay Area, I had trouble speaking my own cultural language which made it difficult for me to communicate with my own grandfather. It was only the small hand gestures and the exchange of bright smiles that helped me express my love for him. When I encountered the discovery of how AI gave a woman her voice back, it made me curious to know if it could help me get to know my family and culture a bit more through communicating with my grandfather in a way that involves using AI.

According to an article from the Stanford University Medical Center, a research participant, Pat Bennett, was connected to computers in order to translate her brain signals as she tried to speak. Bennett used to love riding horses and jogging every day; but, all of this stopped right when she lost her voice. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological condition, gave reason for her inability to speak. This disease attacked the movement of her neurons causing eventual paralysis and preventing her from using the muscles of her lips, tongue, larynx, and jaws in order to enunciate words.

But, it was through AI technology that restored her voice and helped her to regain a sense of self and identity. Patt Bennett wrote in a statement, “For those who are nonverbal, this means they can stay connected to the bigger world, perhaps continue to work, maintain friends and family relationships." This correlates to identity which is made up of multiple factors, the most important being the voice. Your voice can be used to share your own cultural identity through the powerful sound of language. I find it interesting how this can relate to how the use of voice can maintain family relationships by communicating cultural values and traditions with others.

It is also astonishing to learn how the use of AI brought Bennetts’ voice back and shifted my view on how AI can be used. I used to view AI as just a temporary computer interface that only sends in information when you enter a question. But, it’s way beyond just asking factual questions or virtually socializing with ChatGPT. The voice is the bridge to building an identity. This kind of technology helped her stay connected with the world by being able to speak using language from the magic of AI. As the project progresses, I am eager to know more about how researchers can apply a similar mechanism to overcome language barriers. This technology could enable me to communicate with my grandpa, while also exploring and embracing my cultural identity.


How artificial intelligence gave a paralyzed woman her voice back


Comments

  1. Allison September 6, 2023 at 12:20 PM

    Hi, Aishwarya! I love how you tied the use of AI helping Pat Bennett be able to communicate again to the technology allowing you to communicate with your grandpa. Our voices are part of our identities as they allow us to share our thoughts; it makes sense to tie the ability to speak in ways we could not have before to the development of our identities. The story of Bennett made me realize how much our voices impact the way we present ourselves. Back in middle school, I lost my voice for a day. Because of this, I was only able to speak in a whisper, which was not good for my health either. Although I was feeling physically okay, I decided to stay home from school. I didn’t want my classmates and friends to see me when I couldn’t communicate properly with them. Although this is nowhere near the severity of Bennett’s condition, it still made me realize how important our voices are. Your blog also made me realize the positive things AI is capable of. I’ve heard so much negativity from artists over the problem of AI art that I had forgotten all the good AI can do as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anushka ReddySeptember 6, 2023 at 5:27 PM

    Hi Aishwarya! I think it is very interesting how you connected AI technology with language in your blog. It is very interesting to see how AI can go beyond its conventional uses and drastically enhance people's lives. I agree with your perspective on AI. Although a lot of people initially think of AI as a tool for fact-checking or search engines, it has much more potential. I wonder how AI will develop in the future and how it will continue to help people.

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  3. Patrick ChouSeptember 6, 2023 at 7:02 PM

    Hi, it was interesting to be able to read about a real-life example of this technology. My blog was also about real-world use of AI and I briefly touched on some of this technology but it's great to read more in depth about the details of this technology. This also highlights the true value and how it is associated with our identity. This also raises a question do you think the true identity of a person is there if there is limited data for the AI to be trained on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aarya PatilSeptember 6, 2023 at 7:35 PM

    Hi Aishwarya!! I think its intriguing how you connected AI and Pat Bennet being able to communicate again, with your connection to your grandpa. It's interesting that AI technology has so many various uses and that it has actually impacted people's lives. It is inspiring to see people like Bennett utilize AI for much more. Your passage was extremely informative, and I learned all the capabilities of AI.

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