Disabled peer debuts her AI-generated voice in Parliament after tech firm harvested old radio interviews to help create her Lords speech

Published: 13:33 EDT, 13 October 2026 | Updated: 13:38 EDT, 13 October 2026 A disabled peer debuted her AI-generated voice in the House of Lords today after a tech firm harvested old radio interviews to help create her parliamentary speech.Baroness Campbell of Surbiton introduced what she has dubbed her 'Jane Mark II' voice during a debate on Labour's Health Bill in the upper chamber.The independent crossbench peer, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy as an infant, is a leading disability rights campaigner.She used 'cutting-edge' AI voice generation software by ElevenLabs to create the speech she delivered during Tuesday's debate in her own voice.The firm harvested interviews she did in the past, such as her 2012 appearance on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, to generate the speech.The voice sounds like Baroness Campbell from several years back, as her speech has become increasingly compromised due to a deterioration in her condition.The historic use of technology came after the Procedures Committee decided to approve a unique accommodation for the 67-year-old.It allowed Baroness Campbell to address the Lords directly, despite being unable to deliver the speech naturally.Wonderful to hear Baroness Campbell's AI-created voice @UKHouseofLords for the first time; a first for @UKParliament & among the first in any legislature worldwide.More than a tech milestone, it's very much HER voice, a powerful one for a leading disability rights campaigner📣 pic.twitter.com/0drnfmx2l0— Lord Speaker (@LordSpeaker) October 13, 2026 Baroness Campbell of Surbiton introduced what she has dubbed her 'Jane Mark II' voice during a debate on Labour's Health Bill in the upper chamber The independent crossbench peer, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy as an infant, is a leading disability rights campaignerThe committee had previously granted Baroness Campbell permission to bring her personal assistant into the chamber to read her speeches when required.This marked a departure from a parliamentary rule dating from 1707 that prohibits non-peers to 'cross the bar'.Ahead of Tuesday's debate, Baroness Campbell described how she is now 'pretty bionic' with her breathing done by a machine on the back of her electric wheelchair.She told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'I think it was 2014 I went to the Procedures Committee and asked to bring a PA into the chamber to help me with my notes.'And also when I ran out of breath to read the end of my speeches because it was getting more difficult to speak.'But I always wanted my own voice, I didn't like the idea of someone else speaking on my behalf.'Then I came across this company called ElevenLabs and they provide the software to generate your own voice and it was done so quickly.'They harvested interviews that I'd done in the past, so I did my Desert Island Discs interview and they took it and they played around with it.'Now I have a generated voice that sounds like me 10 years ago, clearer, younger, a little bit younger, which is always good, and it can go on forever, so... isn't that cool?'She added: 'It's very much me. Just think of it as an echo chamber. It's echoing my words. It's a tiny little speaker. It is incredible. It must only be the size of a pill bottle.'A very small round speaker that I place on my lap next to the microphone and then my assistant, who has to be with me now at all times, will just push the button for me and off I go.'So on Tuesday I will introduce this voice into the chamber and calling it Jane Mark II. 'Then I will push the button and they will listen to my dulcet tones and I have to say we've already tested it on the speaker system, in the House of Lords, and it sounds really good.'Ahead of her voice-generated speech in the Lords on Tuesday, Baroness Campbell thanked the Procedures Committee for their approval of her AI-generated voice.'This is cutting-edge technology, and it will enable me to contribute to debates in my own once clear voice before it began to deteriorate due to my disability,' she said.'I hope that your lordships will agree with me that this is an exciting development for the House of Lords, showcasing to the world inclusion in democracy at its best.'