Hank Azaria fears AI will replace his iconic The Simpsons voices

Among the many actors who lend their voices to characters in The Simpsons, few can match Hank Azaria's impressive range. After all, we're talking about the man behind more than 100 characters in the series, a role he has maintained for nearly four decades. Despite this, he holds little hope for the future, and in a recent interview, he shared his concerns about AI.

Speaking with The New York Times, Azaria specifically discussed how saddened he is by the thought that artificial intelligence will likely take over his work in the near future.

"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. 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 went on to describe how easy it would be for AI to train on the vast amount of material he has produced over the years.

"In my case, AI could have access to 36 years of Moe, the permanently disgruntled bartender. 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."

He is far from the only figure in the industry to speak out against AI. Nicolas Cage also recently addressed the issue during his speech at the Saturn Awards, stating:

"But there is another world that is also disturbing me. It's happening right now around all of us: the new AI world. I am a big believer in not letting robots dream for us. Robots cannot reflect the human condition for us. That is a dead end. If an actor lets one AI robot manipulate his or her performance even a little bit, an inch will eventually become a mile, and all integrity, purity, and truth of art will be replaced by financial interests only. We can't let that happen."

What are your thoughts on AI and the entertainment industry? How do you think the future looks for the acting profession?