A mother-of-three living with motor neurone disease has regained the ability to use her own voice again through artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Yvonne Johnson, 58, from north London, was diagnosed with MND almost six years ago. During that time, the degenerative neurological condition has taken much of her mobility, strength and ability to work – but for her, the biggest loss was losing her voice.
“I used to be the one cracking jokes, leading conversations,” she said. “When I lost my ability to speak, it was like I’m still here, but not always heard. That was very hard to accept.”
Using old voice notes, videos and voicemails to recapture her sound and accent, US firm ElevenLabs was able to recreate her voice.
“It’s like when you send a text – that sort of way. But instead of it just being words on a screen, people are hearing my voice again,” she said.
“Right now, you are hearing my voice through AI. How amazing is that?” she said. “This is my voice – but it’s being spoken through technology. Being able to communicate again changes everything.”
MND affects the brain and nerves, causing muscle weakness that gets worse over a few months or years. It is usually life-shortening and there’s currently no cure, according to the NHS.
Six people die from the disease every day in the UK, and the average life expectancy following diagnosis is just 18 months. Around 80 per cent of people with MND lose their ability to speak.
Ms Johnson, who worked in health and social care, is known for her bubbly, charismatic personality. But in 2020, she noticed her speech beginning to falter.
Months of tests and misdiagnoses followed before she was given the news in 2021.
“I was in the hospital alone when the doctor told me,” she said. “I was in shock. I asked if I could record what she was saying. I needed proof that it was real.”
Eventually, she told her husband of 25 years, Orville, a mental health support worker.
“I said, ‘I have MND.’ He didn’t flinch. He just said, ‘I’m going to look after you. We have our faith, and your disease does not define you – you are still Yvonne.’ That moment meant everything.”
Ms Johnson said her voice was a big part of her identity and when it was taken away it felt like she was “fading”.
“That’s why hearing my voice again totally blew my mind. I forgot how cockney I was, seriously, a wave of nostalgia came over me. I actually felt torn with my emotions, feeling proud of my accent, and also feeling so emotional not having my original voice anymore,” she added.
Ms Johnson worked with portrait artist Sara Pope to preserve her personality in an image as a part of a project called Portrait of a Voice.
Her painting raised more than £15,000 for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which is a charity committed to finding treatment for MND.
