AI voice acting: James Earl Jones’ voice lives on through artificial intelligence, sparking hopes and fears [Video]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. –

Over the course of an acting career that spanned more than six decades, James Earl Jones’ voice became an indelible piece of his work as a performer.

On screen, Jones, who died Monday at 93, brought to life a reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in “Field of Dreams” and a haughty king of a fictional land in “Coming To America.” On stage, he won two Tony Awards for “The Great White Hope” and “Fences.” His work as a voice actor — the regal dignity of his portrayal of Mufasa in “The Lion King” and the menacing and deep timbre he lent to Darth Vader in “Star Wars” — helped cement his place as a legendary actor among generations of fans.

But in the wake of his death, an aspect of Jones’ career has come to the fore: consenting to the use of artificial intelligence to replicate his performance …