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technology16h ago
ElevenLabs pledges to restore 1 million voices with AI at SXSW 2026
- ElevenLabs announced at SXSW 2026 a plan to restore voices for 1 million people with permanent voice loss using AI tools.
- Rebecca Gayhart Dane, Eric Dane’s widow, joined the panel to promote the initiative and seek participants worldwide.
- The program uses voice cloning to recreate a person’s voice from a short recording for real-time communication.
- The initiative collaborates with accessibility nonprofits and disability foundations, including the Scott-Morgan Foundation.
- ElevenLabs premiered the 11 Voices docuseries at SXSW to profile participants benefiting from the tech.
- Experts acknowledge AI as capable of good use, despite debates on deepfakes and copyright at SXSW panels.
- Gayhart Dane emphasized that restoring voices helps people feel like themselves and protect family connections.
- The panel included Yvonne Johnson, a participant with ALS, who shared her experience with AI voice restoration.
- The 11 Voices docuseries depicts real-life stories of people benefiting from the technology.
- Mashable reports the broader tech context includes ongoing debates on AI protections for will and rights.
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