Recovery Discovery | How a Voice Can Tell a Story (with Henry O’Connell of Canary Speech)

What if a short snippet of conversation could reveal insights into your emotional, behavioral, and cognitive health and signal risk factors for Substance Use Disorder? In this episode of Recovery Discovery, hosts' DeAnn Knighton and Craig Knighton sit down with Henry O’Connell, Co-Founder and CEO of Canary Speech, to explore how artificial intelligence and voice biomarkers are transforming the way clinicians understand human well-being.

From its origin story in a Utah bagel shop to its deployment in primary care and behavioral health settings, Canary Speech’s “ambient listening” technology captures subtle, subconscious vocal patterns — helping clinicians identify indicators of anxiety, depression, pain, mild cognitive impairment, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
The three discuss:

• The science of voice biomarkers and clinical decision support

• How Canary’s non-intrusive AI assists rather than replaces clinicians

• Application to substance use disorder 

• Real stories from patients and practitioners using the tool

• The ethical and emotional dimensions of integrating AI into mental health care and substance use disorder