Case study | Dell & Intel: I Will Always Be Me

https://wfanet.org/knowledge/diversity-and-inclusion/item/2022/06/25/Case-study--Dell--Intel-I-Will-Always-Be-Me

Global tech companies Dell and Intel collaborate to help MND patients preserve their voice.

Dell Technologies  and  Intel, in collaboration with the  MND Association  and  Rolls-Royce,
have launched a platform to help people living with ALS, or MND as it’s called in the UK, preserve
their voice and sense of self.

People diagnosed with MND (motor neurone disease), a neurodegenerative condition,

su er a number of limitations such as the gradual loss of speech. There is a way for those losing
their speech to preserve their voice, known as voice banking. This is a process of logging one’s
voice so that it can be used as the basis of an assistive speech service. But voice banking is a
long and demanding task that involves reading through a long list of random words – often
resulting in a digital voice that sounds somewhat robotic.

Created with VMLY&R, New York, I Will Always Be Me is a book-reading experience that
can create a digital voice with just a 30-minute recording. This is possible as the story, written by
author Jill Twiss, contains all the sounds and intonations needed to synthesise a human voice.

The e-book is written as a letter from a person diagnosed with MND to their loved ones, and
touchingly emphasises that while their bodies and abilities might change, they will always remain
themselves on the inside.

Users can create a free account on the  campaign’s website. Here, the voice-logging
technology will record the voice of whoever is reading the book, which can be converted into a
digital voice that can be used on assistive speech devices. 

While anyone across the world can use the campaign’s website and record themselves
reading the book, the program that synthesises the voice for free for MND patients is currently
only available in the UK.

‘Technology gets more powerful, more intuitive, and smarter every day, and I’m optimistic
about what we’ll be able to do in the future – not only for individuals with MND but for the world at
large,’ Liz Matthews, senior vice president of global brand at Dell Technologies, said in a
statement.

Lexicon

Brit x American

Audio Exercise

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