Pittsburgh Man Uses AI to Preserve ALS Patients' Voices, Inspiring Global Change

In a quiet Mount Washington home overlooking Pittsburgh’s skyline, David Betts—a former Deloitte senior leader, Ironman athlete, and now ALS patient—is rewriting the future of assistive communication. Diagnosed with sporadic ALS in December 2024, Betts refused to accept the sterile, robotic voices traditionally offered to those losing their ability to speak. Instead, he built an AI-powered app called Talk To Me, Goose, designed to let users communicate in their own voice, tone, and emotional nuance—even after their natural speech fades.

According to the original report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Betts, 56, leveraged voice-cloning technology from ElevenLabs, training the AI with just 30 fifteen-second audio clips of his own voice. The result was startlingly authentic: "This sounds like me," he recalled. What began as a personal mission to preserve his identity evolved into a global movement. The app, which predicts intent and reduces the "awkward pause" common in slow typing interfaces, now supports 31 languages across iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.

Pittsburgh, known as the "City of Bridges" for its 446 bridges and rich industrial heritage, has long been a hub of innovation—from Carnegie Mellon’s robotics labs to its growing tech ecosystem. Betts’ work continues this legacy. His app was selected as a 2025 Zero Project Awardee by the Vienna-based global disability advocacy initiative, chosen from 586 nominations across 93 countries. Wilfried Kainz, Zero Project’s head of research, praised Betts for "harnessing AI to bring rich, human texture into generated speech," calling it a "compelling benchmark for inclusive voice technology."

The emotional impact of the app has been profound. Betts learned of a Montana father, nearing the end of his ALS journey, who used the app to read a bedtime story to his children for the first time. "I don’t care if anyone ever uses the app again. Mission accomplished," Betts told his wife. That moment became the moral compass for his nonprofit-driven model.

To sustain free access for ALS patients, Betts co-founded Mundell Designs with his wife, Anne Mundell. The company’s for-profit storytelling platform, Fables Adventures, generates revenue through subscriptions and community content, funneling profits back into Talk To Me, Goose. To date, the initiative has raised over $81,000 for the Live Like Lou Foundation, with a $250,000 goal this year. The foundation, named for baseball legend Lou Gehrig, now distributes the app nationwide.

Betts’ advocacy extends beyond technology. He is actively lobbying for the reauthorization of the ACT for ALS legislation, set to expire in 2026, warning that without federal support, progress toward a cure will stall. Meanwhile, he continues to ride his bike along the Monongahela River, despite declining mobility, and has committed to completing a 50-mile ride for Live Like Lou’s executive director Wendy Faust—a connection forged through shared Pittsburgh ties and mutual Deloitte alumni networks.

Pittsburgh’s health care infrastructure, including the Sean M. Healey and AMG Center for ALS in Boston where Betts received his diagnosis, has played a critical role in advancing patient care. While a separate incident in the region involved a caregiver accused of financial exploitation, Betts’ story stands as a powerful counter-narrative: one of dignity, innovation, and community-driven compassion.

"Grieve with abandon all that is lost, and then pause and reflect on everything that is still possible," Betts says, quoting Hanna Du Plessis. He has done both—and in doing so, given thousands the most human of gifts: their own voice."