Sarah Ezekiel’s story reads almost like a modern miracle—a tale of technology, perseverance, and the enduring power of the human voice. For 25 years, Ezekiel, a 59-year-old woman from the UK, could only communicate through a synthetic, robotic voice after losing her ability to speak due to Motor Neurone Disease (MND). But in August 2025, a combination of artificial intelligence, a sliver of old audio, and the dedication of tech innovators gave her back something she thought was lost forever: her own voice.
Diagnosed with MND at just 34, Ezekiel’s world changed dramatically after the birth of her second child. The disease, known for its relentless progression and devastating impact on muscle control, left her unable to use her voice or hands. For years, her only means of communication was through eye-gaze technology, which allowed her to form words and sentences that a computer would then "speak" for her. But that voice, she says, never truly felt like her own. It was robotic, lacking the nuances and warmth that make spoken language so personal.
Her children, Aviva and Eric, grew up knowing only this artificial voice. The real Sarah—the one with a Cockney accent and a slight lisp—was a distant memory, even to herself. "After such a long time, I couldn’t really remember my voice," Ezekiel told BBC Access All. The absence of her true voice was more than an inconvenience; it was a loss of identity, a barrier between her and her loved ones.
But a remarkable collaboration between Bristol-based assistive technology company Smartbox and AI voice specialists ElevenLabs changed everything. The quest began when Smartbox approached Ezekiel, asking for an hour’s worth of audio to help reconstruct her voice. There was just one problem: she’d lost her voice in 2000, long before smartphones made recording everyday moments easy. All she could provide was a scratchy, eight-second clip from a VHS tape recorded in the 1990s. The footage was shaky, the TV blared in the background, and her own voice was barely audible.
Simon Poole of Smartbox admitted to the BBC that he was initially skeptical. "I thought there’s no way we’re going to be able to create a voice using audio that bad," he said. The challenge seemed insurmountable, but the team pressed on. Using a "Voice Isolator" to extract her voice from the noisy background and AI software trained to fill in the missing gaps, they got to work. ElevenLabs, known for its cutting-edge voice-cloning technology, stepped in to help. Their software doesn’t just mimic pitch and tone—it can inject emotion, timing, and subtle inflections to make speech sound natural.
The results were astonishing. The AI reconstructed a voice that was instantly recognizable as Sarah’s younger self, Cockney accent and all. When Ezekiel first heard it, she was overwhelmed. "When I first heard it again, I felt like crying. It’s a kind of miracle," she said in a BBC interview. For her children, the experience was equally profound. Aviva, her daughter, described it simply: "It was amazing. I’m still coming to terms with it. Hearing it now in everyday life, it still surprises me." Eric, her son, noted the impact on their family dynamic, saying the new voice allowed them to feel "who she is as a person."
For Ezekiel, the restoration of her voice was about more than just communication. "I’m glad to be back. It’s better than being a robot," she said. The technology, which she continues to operate using eye-gaze controls, has given her back a sense of self that had been missing for decades. She now communicates in a voice that carries her personality, quirks, and history—something no generic synthetic voice could ever replicate.
The broader implications of this breakthrough are hard to overstate. According to The Times, Sam Sklar of ElevenLabs emphasized that their technology can "include emotion, timing and anything else to make speech sound natural." This isn’t just about making machines talk; it’s about restoring the core of what makes us human. Karina Nagin, executive director at Bridging Voice, the nonprofit providing communication software for conditions like ALS and MND, put it succinctly: "Communication with loved ones and the world is at the heart of what it means to be human. No diagnosis should ever strip that away. This partnership isn’t just about giving a voice to those living with ALS/MND—it’s about helping them rediscover their voice. It’s a reminder that their unique voice, full of love and strength, will always be heard."
Smartbox and ElevenLabs have signaled their intent to make this technology accessible to more people living with MND and similar conditions. ElevenLabs has even offered to provide free voice-cloning for patients, recognizing the profound impact it can have on quality of life. The technology partnership, as reported by the BBC, aims to ensure that no one has to lose their unique voice to disease—a mission that resonates deeply with families affected by conditions like MND.
Of course, the journey wasn’t without obstacles. The project hinged on that tiny sliver of audio, and there were moments when success seemed unlikely. But the determination of everyone involved—from Ezekiel and her family to the engineers and developers—made the difference. As Simon Poole recounted, the emotional moment when the recreated voice was first played back was unforgettable, a testament to what’s possible when technology is guided by empathy.
For the Ezekiel family, ordinary conversations have taken on new meaning. Aviva reflected on the experience: "Hearing it now in everyday life, it still surprises me." The restoration of Sarah’s voice has brought them closer, bridging a gap that technology had, until now, only partially filled. It’s a reminder that even the most advanced machines can be at their best when they help us reclaim what’s deeply personal and irreplaceable.
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, stories like Sarah Ezekiel’s offer a glimpse of its most hopeful possibilities. With just eight seconds of scratchy audio, a mother’s voice was brought back to life—proof that sometimes, the smallest fragments of the past can spark the greatest transformations.
