#5Thoughts Friday

The

Michael Phelps

Edition

08/2/2024

5) "You truly don't know what you've got until it's gone": Rep. Jennifer Wexton uses AI to give House floor speech.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton on Thursday used an AI recreation of her voice to give a first-of-its-kind House floor speech that recognized Disability Pride Month.

“This very impressive AI recreation of my voice does the public speaking for me now,” the Virginia Democrat said via artificial intelligence. “I hope I can be a voice, even an AI voice, for Americans facing accessibility challenges and other disabilities.”

The AI used old recordings of speeches and appearances she made as a congresswoman to create a clone of her speaking voice. It is believed to be the first House floor speech using such technology. Wexton’s voice plays out of her iPad, for which she types out her thoughts, uses a stylus to move the text around, and hits play. The AI program then puts that text into Wexton’s voice.

Earlier this year, Wexton started using an assistive app to give a floor speech as she battles progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The AI voice she used Thursday, however, was much closer to her actual voice prior to the diagnosis.

The disease is a severe form of Parkinson’s disease that impairs her ability to speak clearly. After she was diagnosed last September, Wexton announced she will not seek reelection.



“I never thought that at my age and otherwise good health, something like PSP could, in the space of just over a year, rob me of my ability to speak, run, or dance and force me to stop doing the job that I love,” she said.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

4) Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt's Son Pax Suffers Nasty Head Injury After Horror E-Bike Accident

Pax Jolie-Pitt, son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, was rushed to the hospital after being involved in a terrifying bike crash that left him with a head injury.

Pax was left reeling in pain as he reportedly had no protective gear on when he crashed into a car with his electric bike on a busy L.A. street.

The accident comes weeks after Pax was seen grabbing dinner with his mom, Angelina Jolie, as he and his other siblings continue to be estranged from their dad, Brad Pitt.

The 20-year-old was rushed to an L.A. hospital on Monday after he was involved in a bizarre bike accident that left him with an injury to his head.

According to TMZ, Pax was riding down the busy Los Feliz Blvd. around 5 p.m., which meant he had to contend with rush-hour traffic. As he approached an intersection, Pax rammed into a car that stopped at the red light with his electric bike.

The driver of the car reportedly got down to check on Pax, who was without a helmet at the time of the crash, before the cops and paramedics arrived on the scene.

CLICK HERE for full article.

CMS has added TBI to its list of chronic conditions for chronic special needs plans (C-SNPs) through its Medicare Advantage program effective for the January 2025 plan year. The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) will continue to fight to expand coverage for all types of brain injury with the ultimate goal of greater coverage across all forms of public and private insurance.

“We are thrilled that CMS agrees with our stance that brain injury is a chronic health condition, and has provided official recognition,” said Rick Willis, President and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America. “This is an important first step in our fight to expand coverage for brain injury beyond acute care and helps us to make our case that brain injury should be treated by healthcare providers as a chronic condition like heart disease or diabetes.”

The addition of TBI to the list of chronic conditions was included in a rule published in the Federal Register earlier this year. Getting official recognition of TBI as a chronic condition from CMS is a significant step forward and provides validation that brain injury should be more broadly recognized as a chronic condition.

CLICK HERE for full article.

2) Books We are READING This Week

Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World

by

Nina Kraus

Making sense of sound is one of the hardest jobs we ask our brains to do. In Of Sound Mind, Nina Kraus examines the partnership of sound and brain, showing for the first time that the processing of sound drives many of the brain's core functions. Our hearing is always on--we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes--and yet we can ignore sounds that are unimportant. We don't just hear; we engage with sounds. Kraus explores what goes on in our brains when we hear a word--or a chord, or a meow, or a screech.

CLICK HERE to see more.

Looking for Something fun to do in Maryland this weekend? Click the picture below and discover a world of possibilities for things to do this weekend!

Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

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