Finding Your Voice investigates the complexities of self-voice recognition and agency, focusing on the neurological processes that shape how we perceive and distinguish authentic voices from manipulated ones. While humans are adept at recognizing familiar voices, we are surprisingly vulnerable to synthetic or altered voices—a challenge that poses significant risks in an era of deepfakes and voice cloning technologies.
Studies reveal that people struggle to detect fake or imitated voices, often mistaking convincing fabrications for genuine communication. This vulnerability can be exploited to impersonate figures of authority, manipulate trust, and spread misinformation—threatening personal security, financial systems, and social stability.
Our project seeks to understand the neural mechanisms that govern self-voice recognition and explore how these insights can empower individuals. By leveraging neural modulation, we envision creating adaptive voice agents—personalized extensions of oneself that strengthen identity, enhance self-awareness, and defend against deception.
Our first publication surrounding the self recognition of our voice can be found
VoiceMorph: How AI Voice Morphing Reveals the Boundaries of Auditory Self-Recognition
Kye Shimizu and Minghan Gao and Ananya Ganesh and Pattie Maes