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Voice-activated devices: are they a help or a challenge?
I have a love-hate relationship with voice-activated devices. My Alexa does understand my simple verbal commands, but the phone, TV, or my computer do not – their replies are way off the mark.
Do you use voice-activated devices for entertainment, or do they help you with daily activities – like operating lights, appliances, and such?
Do you find it easy to use them, or do your ALS symptoms create a challenge to use them?
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4 Replies
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Since ALS has affected my voice, most of these devices do not understand me. I have to use alternate methods or ask a family member to help out. I wonder if people with a heavy foreign accent have the sme difficulties?
I wish technology would move away from assuming we can all speak to our devices and toward more inclusive options.
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Dagmar – Have you tried using an AAC device to give you audible voice control of your phone, TV, and computer? That should give you a clear voice. (My husband passed away in 2014. He used eye gaze AAC to give him an audible voice – but back then our Tv, phone, etc did not respond to voice controls, and he could not type or use his hands, so he was unable to control a TV or phone.)
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Hi Dagmar, I was diagnosed with bulbar ALS last June, and none of the voice-activated applications work well with my current voice. So, I enrolled with a website called ElevenLabs, which uses AI to generate your original voice. I uploaded three audio files from my WhatsApp app, and that was enough to emulate my voice when I text on my phone or laptop.
I sometimes use the platform with a speaker when I have to attend team calls. It’s very useful!
Hope it helps!
Regards,
Martin
elevenlabs.io
AI Voice Generator & Text to Speech v2
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All good suggestions…….. but, I’d rather not have to go through the tedious text-enter-computer voice manipulation just to give a device a command, or be in conversation. I guess I’m spoiled, but I don’t want to give up the spontaneity of using my own voice.
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