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Sarah lost her voice to MND, 25 years later she's got it back

An astonishingly feel good story about AI.

The onset of motor neurone disease (MND) left Sarah without a voice and the use of her hands at the age of 34. It was within months of her becoming a mum for the second time.

As they were growing up, her children Aviva and Eric only ever heard her speak through a machine with an emotionless robotic voice.

But 25 years on, artificial intelligence (AI) has recreated their mum's real voice from just eight seconds of audio on a scratchy VHS tape.

Sarah speaks to the BBC with eye-gaze technology - which uses a camera to track her eyes as she looks at letters on a screen in front of her.

Originally aired August 2025.

Presenter: Emma Tracey, mixed by Dave O'Neill, Series Producer: Beth Rose, Editor: Damon Rose.

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25 minutes

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