this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2025
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The Simpsons

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Guess the Episode "Rules"

These "Rules" aren't real, so if you think of something clever, do that instead.

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[–] MimicJar 1 points 5 days ago

So this asks the first question, "Can AI replace voice actors?"

They say "No", but ultimately ends with, probably someday. Characters like Moe have hundreds of examples to pull from, tons of training data. Creating a copy is "easy". Asking that copy to do new things might be tricky, but it can try millions of times and like a monkeys with typewriters or will probably eventually figure it out.

Now the second question, "Should AI replace voice actors?"

Now I think the obvious answer is "No", but like the previous question the answer is likely probably in some cases. I imagine it will likely start as placeholder voice acting or background/filler voices, then who knows. I'm not sure I like or agree, but that just seems likely.

Now, the third question, and bringing it back to The Simpsons, if voice acting is replaced by AI, can we bring back characters like Apu? Apu was previously voiced by Hank Azaria, who has decided to no longer voice said character.

Now, I think the first argument would be again, "No", because that voice of Apu is based off of Hank Azaria's voice which is part of the problem. However when we look at characters like Carl and Doctor Hibbert, who had similar problems but were replaced, we notice that their new voices, while different, are still in fact largely based on their original voices. Does AI "solve" this problem? Does it make it worse? Or maybe we never ask this question because AI was banned at question 2.

[–] MimicJar 1 points 5 days ago

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/04/opinion/simpsons-hank-azaria-voice-acting-AI.html

No Paywall: https://archive.ph/FVkls or just use Firefox Reader View, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-reader-view-clutter-free-web-pages

And of course since this is about voice acting then you loose a little by reading versus listening.