The Power of Ethical Voice Cloning Shown by LALAL.AI

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept: it’s a present-day force quietly transforming nearly every aspect of our lives. From personalized recommendations on streaming platforms to real-time language translation, medical diagnostics, autonomous vehicles, and creative tools, AI has woven itself into the fabric of daily living. What once seemed like science fiction is now powering the apps we use, the content we consume, and the decisions we make - often without us even noticing. As its capabilities grow, AI continues to reshape how we communicate, work, heal, and create.

As in a fantastic movie, AI is now allowing to do what seemed unrealistic some 10-15 or even 5 years ago: as already mentioned, it can translate, help in different domains as healthcare and others and it can make technologies that we couldn’t ever imagine could exist, possible, like, for instance, AI voice cloning.

Voice cloning itself is a deeply polarizing technology. On platforms like LinkedIn, it frequently draws criticism that is often linked to concerns about deepfakes, fraud, and the potential replacement of real humans as it is, for instance, in the situation with dubbing - with voice actors. These issues are legitimate and warrant careful consideration. The rapid advancement of AI-driven voice cloning has enabled the creation of highly realistic voice replicas from just a few seconds of audio, lowering the barrier for impersonation scams and social engineering attacks.

But they’re only half the story.

There is another side: one that’s quieter, more personal and deeply human. For people who lose their ability to speak - due to illness, aging, or injury - voice cloning is not a threat. It’s a lifeline.

When the voice disappears

For many, the voice is not just a tool: it's part of their identity. Its loss, whether gradual or sudden, can be emotionally devastating.

Conditions like:

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
Laryngeal cancer
Age-related degeneration
Stroke or dementia ...could lead to partial or total loss of speech.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, over 2 million people in the U.S. alone require assistive technology for communication. For many, traditional text-to-speech devices offer only robotic, generic voices that strip away nuance, personality and cultural identity. Moreover, “only one in five of the people in need of hearing aids and prostheses worldwide can access them, according to a new report by ATscale, a global partnership for assistive technologies and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).” So, this is not something that can be accessed by all the people who need it, easily and without having to spend significant money on it.

The statistics on voice disorders is shocking: “1.5 million in the UK, 7.5 million in the USA and 150 million people worldwide have voice disorders (estimates).” In some cases, voice disorders can be severe: “approximately 180,000 Americans develop aphonia or severe voice loss each year, often grouped with aphasia and other severe voice disorders.”

Sometimes problems with voice can even lead to a complete voice loss: it’s difficult to find relevant precise statistics, however, according to some data, “but the lifetime prevalence of voice problems (including partial and complete loss) is estimated at 24.3% in some populations.”

How voice loss impacts confidence and identity

As Dr. Norman Hogikyan, director of the University of Michigan Health System Vocal Health Center, says, “Our voice is our ambassador to the rest of the world.” Just like our physical appearance, our voice is a core part of how we’re recognized and understood. It shapes how others perceive us: often more than the actual words we use.

Losing the voice you once had can deeply impact your sense of self-worth, leading to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Even with the best intentions, family members, colleagues and social interactions can unintentionally make the experience more isolating and emotionally challenging.

And this is where AI voice cloning can become a useful tool and serve as a digital voice prosthesis.

LALAL.AI’s Voice Cloner as a voice restorer

LALAL.AI’s Voice Cloner will change the game as instead of using a synthetic voice, individuals can preserve or reconstruct their own unique voice:

Their accent
Their intonation
Their emotional expressiveness.

How it works as a voice restorer:

Preemptive voice banking: before surgery or as part of disease progression (e.g., ALS), individuals can record their voice, which Voice Cloner uses to build a custom AI clone;
Post-loss restoration: if only partial recordings exist, the system can generate a voice that closely matches the person’s former tone, accent and rhythm;
Assistive communication: this personalized voice can then be used in speech-generating devices (SGDs) or custom apps, replacing generic robotic voices with something emotionally authentic and familiar.

This means that when someone speaks using a cloned voice, they’re not just communicating - they’re still themselves.

Just listen to how it sounds in comparison to another voice cloning solution we found online:

Who might need this technology?

People in many professions who rely heavily on voice may benefit from this technology if they lose their speech due to medical conditions such as ALS, throat cancer, stroke, or degenerative diseases, here are some examples:

Educators (teachers, professors, trainers) as their voices are key to authority, trust, and engagement, thus, thanks to AI voice cloning they’ll have a possibility to continue teaching after diagnosis;
Broadcasters & voice professionals (podcasters, voice actors, radio hosts, presenters) as these roles depend directly on vocal identity and tone;
Parents and loved ones (anyone wishing to preserve their voice for emotional or legacy reasons) - e.g., to leave voice messages for children or partners meaning speaking with their children or loved ones in their "real" voice;
Healthcare workers (doctors, therapists, support personnel) as empathy and clarity are often communicated through voice tone;
Public speakers & leaders (politicians, CEOs, coaches, religious figures) as their voice conveys emotion, conviction, and credibility;
Singers & performers - even if they can’t sing again, preserving their speaking voice is a form of legacy - for instance, it has already made possible organizing digital performances of great artists who passed away like Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston.

Case studies: from famous voices to common remedies

The impact of voice loss extends far beyond speech: it touches identity, memory and legacy. Thanks to voice cloning technology, people facing this loss are finding new ways to preserve a deeply personal part of themselves. The motivation could be to “preserve the voice for kids before it’s gone” or “to leave something to communicate after surgery” as people are writing to us at LALAL.AI.

From world-renowned figures to everyday individuals, these case studies reveal how AI-powered voice restoration is already changing lives.

Stephen Hawking famously kept a robotic voice after losing his natural speech due to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). In his later years he explored more natural-sounding alternatives, however, despite this, Hawking chose to retain his classic robotic voice for much of his life because it had become closely associated with him and his public persona;
Cleber Augusto, the Brazilian musician, had his voice digitally restored after losing it following surgery for throat cancer. Thus, it was possible to release a new album of the artist called ‘Minhas Andanças’ including 13 re-recordings of classic samba tracks as well as one new song. The process of creating the album involved a ‘voice donor’ interpreting the song whose vocals were combined with Augusto’s past vocals to create the new tracks;
Val Kilmer, after losing his voice to throat cancer, used AI to recreate his speech for Top Gun: Maverick. The actor who survived a tracheotomy as well during the treatment, used an electronic voice box to communicate. For the above-mentioned role in Top Gun: Maverick, where the character "Iceman" was reprised, AI technology was employed to recreate the actor’s speech, thus allowing to deliver lines despite his altered voice.

While voice banking - a proactive method that allows individuals to record and preserve their natural speech while their voice is still intact - was once limited to research institutions and specialized clinics, it has become increasingly accessible to the general public thanks to advances in AI and cloud-based technology.

Before AI emerged in all areas of human everyday life, samples recorded thanks to voice banking were used to create a personalized digital voice that could be integrated into speech-generating devices.

Usually, this method captures basic phonetic units for later playback: for instance, the leading voice banking project, Acapela Group’s My Own Voice, allows recording just 50 sentences via a simple web-based interface, which are then processed using advanced AI and deep neural network technology to generate a high-quality synthetic voice that preserves the user’s unique timbre, accent, and intonation.

Today, individuals can record their voice at home using a basic microphone and an internet connection without needing specialized hardware or professional studio environments. Platforms like LALAL.AI and other voice preservation services have made it possible for people from all backgrounds to create a high-quality digital voice clone, whether as a precaution before surgery or as part of long-term disease management.

Ethical voice cloning: it’s about choice

Thus, the technology itself isn’t inherently good or bad: it depends on how it’s used.

At LALAL.AI, we take ethical voice cloning seriously.

Our policies include:

Explicit user consent: voice cloning can’t be done without permission;
No impersonation: creating voices of others without legal/express consent is strictly prohibited;
GDPR compliance: user privacy and data protection are core to our infrastructure;
Voice ownership: users always control how their cloned voice is stored, used, or deleted.

We believe assistive technology should be developed with vulnerable communities, not restricted because of misuse in unrelated industries.

What we can do together

If you or someone close to you is facing the possibility of voice loss, you can act now:

How to create your voice clone with LALAL.AI’s Voice Cloner:

Record a set of clean voice samples (ideally using a prepared script);
Upload your files to the LALAL.AI Voice Cloner: it’s available online, just go to LALAL.AI website and choose Voice Cloner from Products’ section (or use a desktop/Android/iOS app);

3. Log in using one of several login options available;

10 minutes are available for free for new users within the Starter pack of Voice Cloner;
Then, click on Select Files, choose a recording, add a pack name and wait until the audio is processed, that’s all!

Thanks to Voice cloner, it’ll be possible to receive a personalized voice model to be used in assistive speech software or to be stored for future use.

Your voice can also become part of your digital legacy, passed on to future generations as a unique part of who you are.

The road ahead

AI voice cloning is a technology with two very different faces. On one side, it has raised serious concerns about misuse in deepfakes, impersonation scams and the potential displacement of human voice professionals. These risks have sparked global debates around ethics, regulation, and responsibility.

But on the other side, voice cloning offers something profoundly human: hope, identity, and dignity for people who are losing their ability to speak. For individuals living with conditions like ALS, throat cancer, or age-related voice deterioration, AI voice cloning is a lifeline. It allows them to preserve the sound of their own voice, communicate with loved ones, and maintain a vital part of who they are.

As voice cloning technology continues to evolve, its greatest potential lies not just in innovation, but in collaboration.

Thus, to truly serve those who need it most, we must work alongside the medical, research, and accessibility communities to build solutions that are ethical, inclusive, and human-centered, for instance, with:

Medical clinics and ALS foundations;
Rehabilitation centers and oncology departments;
Accessibility tech companies;
Researchers and nonprofits working on digital identity preservation.

Let’s make sure the future of voice cloning is not just ethical, but empowering.

Because for someone, somewhere, this isn’t about deepfakes. It’s about being heard: one last time, or for years to come.

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