AceShowbiz - Hank Azaria, the renowned voice actor who's brought to life countless characters on "The Simpsons" since 1989, is voicing his concerns over the potential takeover of his job by artificial intelligence (AI).

The Emmy-winner expressed his sentiments in a detailed op-ed for The New York Times, where he delved deep into the nuances of voice acting and the irreplaceable "humanness" it brings to animated characters.

"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," Azaria wrote.

Azaria voiced numerous characters like bartender Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Comic Book Guy. Over the years, he has recorded voice to these characters in various emotional states and circumstances, providing a rich database for AI technologies to potentially replicate.

"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 candidly shared.

Yet, despite AI's impressive ability to mimic human voices, Azaria believes something will always be missing - the human touch. The actor emphasized how much of his identity and improvisation goes into each character, raising doubts about AI's capacity to capture that essence.

"There's so much of who I am that goes into creating a voice. 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," he noted.

Azaria's concern about the absence of human craftsmanship extends beyond voice acting. He argues that the authenticity of a performance is what engages audiences - a feat achieved through skilled storytelling, acting, directing, and even music.

"Believability is earned through craftsmanship, with good storytelling and good performances, good cinematography and good directing and a good script and good music," he asserted.

As technology progresses, the balance between digital replication and human creativity remains a critical conversation, with artists like Azaria at the forefront, advocating for the preservation of the intrinsic qualities that only a human can bring to the table.