How AI helped a nonspeaking opera star find his voice

In this episode of Science Quickly, we meet Jakob Jordan, an autistic performer with apraxia, who stars in the groundbreaking opera Sensorium Ex. Host Rachel Feltman talks with Jordan, composer Paola Prestini and New York University researcher Luke DuBois about the custom artificial intelligence voice technology that helped Jordan express himself in a way traditional speech devices can’t. Together, they explore how AI can enhance, rather than replace, human creativity and communication. Recommended Reading: More about Sensorium Ex Join our Summer Reading Challenge  E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices