Observer: Built by and for People With Paralysis, This ALS Tech Gives A.I. a Human Voice
For people living with ALS and other forms of paralysis, losing speech can mean losing timing, emotion, and identity in everyday conversation—and many high-end AAC solutions remain expensive and imperfect. Observer’s story introduces VoXAI, a new AI avatar communication system from the Scott-Morgan Foundation (SMF) built to preserve voice and presence, so communication can feel human again, not mechanical.
The article traces VoXAI’s roots to the late roboticist Dr. Peter Scott-Morgan, whose “dignity-by-design” mission lives on through SMF—and through Bernard Muller, SMF’s chief technologist, who is fully paralyzed with ALS and architected the system using only eye-tracking. In practice, a microphone captures the ongoing conversation, AI rapidly generates a few possible replies, and the user selects one with their eyes; the response is then delivered instantly through an on-screen avatar in the user’s own voice, with facial nuance and emotional expression that can continue learning over time.
Observer also spotlights the collaboration behind the platform: D-ID provides the real-time avatar engine that animates facial expressions and natural mouth movement, alongside partners including ElevenLabs (voice), Irisbond (eye-tracking), Nvidia (real-time performance), and Lenovo (hardware). It closes on the bigger stakes—restoring dignity and participation—and SMF’s push to change the economics of assistive communication.
