The Simpsons voice actor, Hank Azaria has admitted that he’s worried about his future in the industry amid the rise of artificial intelligence.
Azaria, 60, has worked on the long-running animated sitcom since 1989 and voiced numerous characters including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Snake and Professor Frink.
The Simpsons has undergone many changes as of late, including switching TV channels in the UK. Now in its 36th season, there is seemingly no end to the show in sight, despite many of its voice actors retiring or passing away.
The use of artificial intelligence has become more prominent in Hollywood but that has prompted issues, most notably when the technology is used to replicate the performance of a deceased star.
In a piece for the New York Times, Azaria opened up about his worries surrounding AI and how it might be used to replace him in the future.
Azaria wrote: “The AI model may not know what’s funny or what timing is, but it could do a million different takes. And it could be told to do them as I would - and it might be pretty convincing.”
“So, if I’m being honest, I am a little worried,” Azaria added. “This is my job. This is what I love to do, and I don’t want to have to stop doing it. The conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that the technology for making faces seem fully human is five years away. I fear that the voice equivalent is also coming.”
The current season of The Simpsons left fans extremely worried after the surprise airing of its “final” episode.
Viewers were left somewhat startled as the long-running animated series’s 36th season, which has bizarrely predicted real-life events for more than three decades, was launched with an episode branded its “series finale”.
However, despite some confusion among viewers, the episode was actually a parody of what makes an effective finale and imagined what the perfect ending of The Simpsons would look like – as written by AI.
Throughout the episode, there were animated recreations of final shots of shows including The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and Succession.
Speaking to The New York Post, showrunner Pete Selman said that episode was inspired by the impossibility of ending the show satisfactorily.
“The discussion that it would be so hard to do a last episode is what led to the fake series finale,” said Selman. “That it’s sort of an impossible thing.”
“The show isn’t meant to end,” he continued. “To do a sappy crappo series finale, like most other shows do, would be so lame. So we just did one that was like over the top.”
