Philippine call centres brace for job losses from AI translators

Manila

THE outsourcing industry in the Philippines, which has dethroned India as the country with the most call centres in the world, is worried that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will eat into the US$23 billion sector.

AI-powered translators could dilute the biggest advantage the Philippines has, the wide use of English, an industry meeting was told this week. Other AI applications could take over process-driven jobs.

The Philippines' business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is an economic lifeline for the South-east Asian nation of 100 million people. It employs about 1.15 million people and, along with remittances from over…