Hank Azaria, the iconic voice behind some of "The Simpsons" most beloved characters, put artificial intelligence to the test to see if it could accurately replicate his voice—and the results left much to be desired.
What Happened: In an experiment with the New York Times, Azaria recorded samples of his voice, which were then fed into an AI system to generate artificial versions of his signature characters, including Moe Szyslak, the bartender.
The AI-generated voices, however, failed to capture the depth, nuance, and soul of his performances. "It felt like what it was, which was just a vocal version of printed text," Azaria noted after hearing an AI-generated imitation of himself.
When tested with Moe the bartender's voice, the AI’s attempt was even further off the mark. "It doesn't have enough gravel in it," Azaria explained. "And it's missing a lot of sounds that Moe should make."
Azaria also demonstrated how voice acting is more than just vocal delivery—it's a full-body performance. To prove his point, he acted out running dialogue while physically moving, showing how breath control and motion affect the realism of a character's voice.
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Why It’s Important: The exploration of AI in voice acting by Azaria comes amid growing interest in AI’s ability to mimic celebrity voices.
Last year, Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled plans to enable its AI chatbot to replicate the voices of celebrities like Judi Dench and John Cena.
However, the use of AI-generated voices has sparked controversy. Technology reviewer Marques Brownlee previously accused a company of using AI to clone his voice without permission.
Azaria acknowledged that AI is improving, but he remains skeptical that it can ever fully replace human creativity. He also noted that audience preferences will ultimately dictate the future of AI in entertainment.
“Right now, what AI generates by itself as Moe the bartender or anything else isn't going to cut it. But if it does start to cut it, people are going to listen to it, and they're going to be grateful that it's so readily available,” the voice actor stated.
Photo Courtesy: Ekaterina_Minaeva on Shutterstock.com
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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