ALS patient can now speak thanks to artificial intelligence

Özcan, who had to cut his education short due to the disease he contracted while pursuing his master's degree in Bolu, began producing content on social media using an eye-tracking system and robotic voices on his computer.

Having lost his ability to speak because he is fed through a tube in his throat, Özcan requested help from an artificial intelligence company he reached out to on social media in August to produce content with his own voice tone. Upon this, company officials who visited him produced a voice model using artificial intelligence, utilizing voice recordings of Gürkan Özcan from before he became ill and recordings of his brother Hakan Özcan, whose voice tone is very similar to his own.

Thanks to this application, Özcan, who produces content on his computer using the eye-tracking system with his own voice, has also started to communicate more easily at home with his father, Remzi Özcan.

HE CAN SPEAK WITH HIS OWN VOICE

Gürkan Özcan noted that he has been producing gaming content on the channels he opened on social media platforms since he became bedridden, and that his number of followers has been increasing day by day.

Explaining that he produces content using publicly available voices through the eye-tracking system, Özcan said, "Speaking with my own voice felt very nice. I was using a publicly available voice before. That was also good; it met my communication needs, but being able to produce content with my own voice makes me very happy. I follow artificial intelligence developments closely. There are foreign companies working on this as well, but I wanted to work with a domestic and national company. They were also very kind and did not treat me like a customer at all."

Özcan stated that he later began producing content about his life, expressing that he starts doing things on his computer as soon as he wakes up.

Emphasizing that without the system, they could only understand each other through "yes" or "no" answers, which made communication impossible, Özcan said, "If it weren't for the eye-tracking and voice support, life would truly be unlivable for both my father and me. To hold onto life, it is important to express yourself. Write, draw, music, painting, whatever makes you happy, express yourself that way. With small steps, one step every day. Stephen Hawking is someone I am inspired by, both for his science and his stance on life. People didn't find it strange; they thought it suited me. I don't see myself at that level, but I am proud to be compared to Hawking."

Father Remzi Özcan (65) said that his son's illness began the year he started his master's degree at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University and that he was diagnosed with ALS 8 years ago.

Mentioning that his son could manage with a cane during his 4-month internship in Finland at that time, but began to have difficulty walking when he returned to İzmit, Özcan stated that Gürkan, who was studying biology, wanted to become an academic.

Özcan pointed out that his son started being fed through a tube in his throat 4 years ago and breathes while connected to an oxygen machine, and that he has taken over his son's care since his wife passed away 2.5 years ago.

Noting that his son has not been able to speak since he started being fed through a tube, Özcan continued as follows:

"He cannot move any part of his body other than his eyes and jaw, not even his head, but he has held onto life thanks to this device. If this device didn't exist, our communication would be very difficult. When he has trouble at night, he can call my cell phone, and when I go out, we can have video calls. Having his original voice is something else. His voice was very similar to his brother's. That's why it was a beautiful thing. I am willing to do anything for Gürkan's satisfaction."

Hafzullah Yıldırım, the CEO of the company working on artificial intelligence voice technologies, explained that Gürkan sent a message saying, "Your algorithm looks amazing. Can we clone my voice? Give me my voice back."

Yıldırım stated that he later visited Özcan, saying, "Because there is no commercial aspect to this. If there were a commercial aspect, a price quote would be given and that would be it, but here there is a social responsibility aspect."

Explaining that they took voice recordings and images of Özcan from before he became ill but could not obtain enough data because the voices were melodic, Yıldırım continued:

"Gürkan offered us a solution there too. 'My voice is very similar to my brother Hakan's. He can be a voice donor for me,' he said. We modeled it so that part of the voice would be Gürkan's and part would be his brother Hakan's. We put forward all the latest technology we have within the company. This offered Gürkan the opportunity to use his own voice again. He became an ALS patient who regained his voice."

Yıldırım added that Gürkan can now produce content with his own voice and that they will further develop the interface they created so that his eyes do not get tired.