Hank Azaria, a seasoned voice actor known for his nearly four-decade tenure with The Simpsons, has expressed concern about the potential for artificial intelligence to replicate his creative contributions to the show. In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Friday, Azaria voiced his apprehension about AI’s increasing presence in the film, music, and art industries.
AI technology has been hailed as a transformative force in the creative world, enabling individuals to produce music, write books, and create videos with ease. But Azaria, along with other artists, fear this technology might stifle creativity and jeopardize industry jobs.
Azaria wrote in The Times, “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, who brought to life characters such as Chief Wiggum, Duffman, Comic Book Guy, Snake Jailbird, and bartender Moe Szyslak, worries that AI’s ability to replicate character sounds could infringe on his creative rights.
Despite the technological advancements, Azaria asserts that AI lacks a “soul and body”, and therefore cannot truly recreate the “humanness” he imbued into his characters. “There’s so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice,” he elaborated. “How can the computer conjure all that? What will the lack of humanness sound like? How big will the difference be?”
Azaria is not alone in his concerns. Lisa Kudrow, noted for her role in Friends, openly criticized a Tom Hanks film, “Here,” for its substantial use of Metaphysic Live, an AI-driven tool used to de-age and face-swap actors. Kudrow questioned the future of human work in light of such technological advancements.
Hanks himself has contributed to the discourse, musing on how AI could potentially allow him to continue acting posthumously. The growing use of AI in the film industry has drawn significant attention and sparked debate among industry stakeholders, including writers, actors, and crew members. Fears about unchecked AI use have been a catalyst for protests by these groups.
The Simpsons, an animated satirical depiction of American life, has been airing on Fox since 1989. Its characters, including the titular Simpson family and the inhabitants of the fictional town of Springfield, are used to critique society, Western culture, and the human condition. Despite Azaria’s concerns and the widespread debate, the show remains in production.
