‘It makes me sad’: The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria fears being replaced by AI

Hank Azaria, a voice actor who’s been with The Simpsons for nearly 40 years, fears that he will be replaced by artificial intelligence, according to an op-ed he published in The New York Times on Friday.

This comes as the subject of the use of AI in the film, music and the art industry as a whole has been topical igniting debates across the industry. AI technology has been touted as a game changer, with the potential to transform the art and entertainment industry, but also has its downside risks.

Hank Azaria fears AI will replicate four decades of creative work on The Simpsons

AI technology has made it easy for anyone to produce music, write books or make video production. Some artists fear this might “kill” the industry’s creativeness, and a blow to employees in the sector who risk losing jobs to the technology.

“I imagine that soon enough, artificial intelligence will be able to recreate the sounds of the more than 100 voices I created for characters on ‘The Simpsons’ over almost four decades,” Azaria wrote in The Times.

“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.”

Azaria.

The 60-year old American actor has been the voice of several characters on the popular animated sitcom since 1989, including the Chief Wiggum, Duffman, Comic Book Guy, Snake Jailbird, and bartender Moe Szyslak.

Azaria is worried that the unique and distinctive sounds of his characters could be replicated by AI easily.

“In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender,” Azaria lamented, adding:

“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. In terms of training AI, that’s a lot to work with.”

However, the actor, who has also appeared in films such as Godzilla, The Birdcage, and The Smurfs, believes AI will lack the “humanness” that he brought to The Simpsons because AI does not have a “soul and body”.

“There’s so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice,” Azaria detailed.

“How can the computer conjure all that? 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,” he said.

Azaria adds to a list of concerned artists

Azaria further expressed concerns that maybe audiences are already being deceived in the film industry especially with the continued advancements in the tech sector, particularly AI.

“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 Simpsons is a satirical depiction of American life. The film has been aired on Fox since 1989 and is personified by the Simpson family: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

It caricatures society, Western culture, and the human condition through the fictional town of Springfield. The Simpsons is still in production.

But Azaria is not the only artist concerned. In December last year, Friends star Lisa Kudrow criticized a Tom Hanks film titled “Here,” for its extensive use of Metaphysic Live, an AI-driven tool that is used to de-age and face-swap actors.

“Set that completely aside, what work will there be for human beings? Then what? There’ll be some kind of living stipend for people, [as] you won’t have to work? How can it possibly be enough?” questioned Kudrow then.

Hanks himself made headlines in May last year after discussing how AI would make him continue acting even after his demise.

The use of AI in the film industry has attracted attention, sparking debates among stakeholders from writers, actors, and behind-the-scenes crew.

Fears over the unchecked use of AI technology were part of the reasons for protests by writers and actors.

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