Hank Azaria expressed fear to The New York Times that artificial intelligence could soon replace him as the voice of several characters on “The Simpsons,” on which he’s been a voice actor since 1989. The comedian is the voice behind dozens of characters on the long-running Fox animated series, including bartender Moe and Chief Wiggum. With 36 years of “Simpsons” voice acting behind him, Azaria is well aware AI has a lot of material to pull from.
“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.”
“In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender,” he continued. “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.”
While AI will likely be able to rip off Azaria’s sound, the actor is hopeful that what the technology will never be able to do is match his body and soul. He hopes “something will still be missing” when it comes to AI, and that is “humanness.”
“There’s so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice,” Azaria wrote. “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.”
“It adds up to a sense that what we’re watching isn’t real, and you don’t need to pay attention to it,” he concluded. “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 currently in its 36th season on Fox, with new episodes also streaming on Disney+. Outside of the show, Azaria has also had voice roles on animated shows like “Family Guy,” “Futurama” and “Spider-Man: The Animated Series.”