Lots of people are concerned about the ability that artificial intelligence (AI) has to copy their voices.
When AI is used to make false recordings of things that a person never said, it is called a "deepfake."
However, more and more stories are coming out about how AI is helping people who can no longer speak, regain a version of their voice.
For example, country music singer Randy Travis recently released his first new song in over 10 years with the help of AI technology.
Travis suffered a stroke and can no longer sing.
The technology is also able to help people like 21-year-old Alexis "Lexi" Bogan from the eastern state of Rhode Island.
Bogan used to love singing along with songs by her favorite musicians like Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan.
She was a singer in her school music group as a teenager.
If she was spending time with friends, she would be the loudest during a discussion about politics over a large fire in the back yard.
But a surprise diagnosis changed all that.
Last August, doctors removed a tumor from the back of her brain.
The surgery was a success.
But after doctors removed a tube used to help her breathe during the operation, Bogan had trouble speaking.
Bogan is working with therapists and has regained some ability to speak, but there is no sign that she will ever be able to speak like she used to.
Last month, Bogan got her voice back in a way.
Experts created a tool for her using AI.
She uses a text-to-voice app on her phone so she can now do things like order her favorite coffee at Starbucks.
She uses it by writing words in her phone and holding it up at the coffee shop so servers can hear her.
The app uses OpenAI's voice tool.
Programmers trained the app using a 15-second sound recording from a cooking video Bogan made as a teenager.
Most of the video had cooking sounds, so that is all they could use.
But it was enough.
Bogan's doctors say Lexi's case shows why AI can be helpful.
Dr.Rohaid Ali is training in neuroscience at Brown University's medical school.
He called Bogan "a trailblazer."
He said the technology can help millions of people with brain injuries, throat cancer or other diseases that prevent a person from speaking.
Fatima Mirza is another doctor working on the project.
She said there is a risk that AI technology can be used by bad people, "but we can't forget about the patient and the social good."
She said the technology permits Bogan to have something close to her true voice.
The doctors had already worked with OpenAI on an earlier project.
When they found out the company wanted to test their voice generator to help patients, they thought of Bogan.
Bogan said "it's almost like a part of my identity was taken when I lost my voice."
She said she was starting to forget what her real voice sounded like before she started using the app.
The app makes mistakes, but people who know Bogan do not seem worried.
They are just happy to hear Lexi's voice.
"I get so emotional every time I hear her voice," said her mother, Pamela, with tears in her eyes.
Bogan said it helped "boost my confidence to somewhat where it was before all this happened."
She said she uses the app about 40 times per day.
The doctors are working with other patients to gather voice samples and they hope to bring the app to other hospitals around the world.
But right now, the app, called Voice Engine, is not publicly available.
Other AI companies, however, are making their voice-cloning services available to entertainment companies or other organizations.
Jeff Harris is OpenAI's project leader for Voice Engine.
He said the company is "very limited in who we're giving the technology to" because they want to be sure everyone whose voice is being used has given permission.
Bogan believes the technology will progress over time so that when she is older, she does not have to depend on the voice she had as a teenager.
She is excited that she is contributing to a change that will help people who are currently using robotic-sounding voices.
很多人对人工智能可以复制他们的声音的功能感到担忧。
当人工智能被用来伪造一个人从未说过的话时,就被称为 "深度伪造"。
然而,越来越多故事出现。在这些故事中,人工智能帮助那些不再能说话的人重获声音。
例如,乡村音乐歌手兰迪·特拉维斯最近在人工智能技术的帮助下发布了他10多年来的第一首新歌。
特拉维斯中风之后,便再也不能唱歌了。
这项技术也能够帮助像来自东部罗德岛州的21岁的亚历克西斯·“莱克西”博根这样的人。
博根过去喜欢跟着着她最喜欢的音乐家如泰勒·斯威夫特和扎克·布莱恩的歌曲一起唱歌。
十几岁的时候,她是学校音乐团的一名歌手。
如果她和朋友在一起,在后院篝火旁讨论政治时,她会是声音最大的那一个。
但一个意外的诊断改变了这一切。
去年8月,医生从她脑后切除了一个肿瘤。
手术很成功。
但在医生拔掉了手术中帮助她呼吸的管子后,博根说话出现了困难。
博根正在与治疗师合作,并已恢复了一些说话能力,但没有迹象表明她将能够像以前那样说话。
上个月,博根以某种方式恢复了自己的声音。
专家们为她创造了一个使用人工智能的工具。
她在手机上使用了一个文本转语音的应用程序,这样她现在就可以在星巴克点她最喜欢的咖啡了。
使用方法是在手机上写下单词,然后把它举到咖啡店里,这样服务员就可以听到她的声音。
这款应用使用的是OpenAI的语音工具。
程序员使用博根十几岁时制作的烹饪视频中的15秒录音对这款应用进行了培训。
视频的大部分都有烹饪的声音,但是他们只能用到这些。
但这已经足够了。
博根的医生说,莱克西的案例表明了为什么人工智能可以有所帮助。
罗海德·阿里博士目前在布朗大学医学院接受神经科学培训。
他称博根为“开拓者”。
他说,这项技术可以帮助数百万患有脑损伤、喉癌或其他能够影响人说话的疾病的人。
法蒂玛·米孜是参与该项目的另一位医生。
她说,人工智能技术可能会被坏人使用,这是有风险的,“但我们不能忘记患者和社会公益。”
她说,这项技术可以让博根拥有接近她真实声音的东西。
医生们已经在早期的一个项目上与OpenAI合作。
当他们发现公司想要测试他们的语音发生器来帮助患者时,他们想到了博根。
博根说:“当我失声时,我的一部分身份就好像被夺走了”。
她说,在开始使用这款应用之前,她已经开始忘记自己的真实声音是什么样子了。
这款应用会犯错误,但了解博根的人似乎并不担心。
他们只是很高兴听到莱克西的声音。
她的母亲帕梅拉眼里含着泪水说:“每次听到她的声音,我都会很激动。”
博根说,这有助于“在某种程度上增强我的信心,恢复到这一切发生之前的样子。”
她说,她每天大约使用这款应用程序40次。
医生们正在与其他患者合作收集语音样本,他们希望将这款应用程序带到世界各地的其他医院。
但目前,这款名为Voice Engine的应用程序尚未公开发布。
然而,其他人工智能公司正在向娱乐公司或其他组织提供语音克隆服务。
杰夫·哈里斯是OpenAI的语音引擎项目负责人。
他说,该公司“在向谁提供这项技术方面非常有限”,因为他们希望确保每一个使用语音的人都得到了许可。
博根相信,随着时间的推移,这项技术将会进步,这样当她长大后,她就不必依赖十几岁时的声音了。
她很兴奋,因为她正在为一项改变做出贡献,这将帮助目前使用机器人声音的人。