The Speech Accessibility Project is partnering with AImpower.org on a new phase. The partners will soon begin recruiting people who stutter. Those interested in participating can sign up to be alerted when recruitment opens.

"At AImpower.org, we are committed to bringing tangible benefits to the communities we serve," the organization said in its announcement. "In our research with the stuttering community, we’ve consistently heard frustrations with everyday speech AI products, along with a strong desire to interact with these technologies as effectively as fluent speakers do. This partnership is our response to that call, and a reflection of the disability movement’s motto: 'Nothing About Us Without Us.'"

Mark Hasegawa-Johnson, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and leader of the Speech Accessibility Project, said he's excited about the partnership.

“This project has already shown improvements in voice recognition technology for people with diverse voices,” he said. “We’re looking forward to working with members of the stuttering community to make sure they’re able to use their voices with technology, as well.”