The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria fears he will be replaced by AI.
The 60-year-old star – who voices the likes of Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and Moe Szyslak on the long-running animated comedy series – feels ‘sad’ at the thought his distinctive characters’ sounds are easily copied by artificial intelligence software.
He wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times newspaper about it.
‘I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to re-create the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons over almost four decades,’ said Hank.
‘It makes me sad to think about it. Not to mention, it seems just plain wrong to steal my likeness or sound — or anyone else’s.
‘In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender.’
The Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria fears he will be replaced by AI. The 60-year-old star – who voices the likes of Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and Moe Szyslak on the long-running animated comedy series – feels ‘sad’ at the thought his distinctive characters’ sounds are easily copied by artificial intelligence software, he told The New York Times. Seen in 2023
‘I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to re-create the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on The Simpsons over almost four decades,’ said Hank. Photo of Homer Simpson
Azaria added: ‘He’s appeared in just about every episode of The Simpsons.
‘He’s been terrified, in love, hit in the head and, most often, in a state of bitter hatred. I’ve laughed as Moe in dozens of ways by now. I’ve probably sighed as Moe 100 times,’ the actor continued.
‘In terms of training AI, that’s a lot to work with.’
But Hank – who has also worked on animated shows including Family Guy, Futurama, Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Bordertown – believes that however accurately AI can mimic his voice, it will be lacking in ‘humanness.’
That is because ‘our bodies and souls’ play a big part in creating a character, added Hank.
He wrote: ‘I’d like to think that no matter how much an AI version of Moe or Snake or Chief Wiggum will sound like my voice, something will still be missing — the humanness.
‘There’s so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice. How can the computer conjure all that?…
‘In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender,’ added Hank. Pictured is Bart Simpson
But Hank – who has also worked on animated shows including Family Guy, Futurama, Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Bordertown – believes that however accurately AI can mimic his voice, it will be lacking in ‘humanness’; pictured are Moe and Homer
‘What will the lack of humanness sound like? How big will the difference be?
‘I honestly don’t know, but I think it will be enough, at least in the near term, that we’ll notice something is off, in the same way that we notice something’s amiss in a subpar film or TV show.
‘It adds up to a sense that what we’re watching isn’t real, and you don’t need to pay attention to it.
‘Believability is earned through craftsmanship, with good storytelling and good performances, good cinematography and good directing and a good script and good music.’
The show first aired in 1989.
The animated comedy focuses on the eponymous family in the town of Springfield in an unnamed U.S. state.
The head of the Simpson family, Homer, is a nuclear-plant employee. He does his best to lead his family but often finds that they are leading him.
The family includes loving, blue-haired matriarch Marge, troublemaking son Bart, overachieving daughter Lisa and baby Maggie. Other Springfield residents include the family’s religious neighbor, Ned Flanders, family physician Dr Hibbert, Moe the bartender and police chief Clancy Wiggum.
