The impact of artificial intelligence on the Philippines job market

A good topic to introduce Cheryl and without doubt pertinent to the Philippines. Latest data shows about 1.8 million Filipinos are directly employed in the BPO industry. That’s Business Process Outsourcing to use the Lingua Franca.

A good portion of the BPO sector are call centres. Many US firms use the Philippines given their ‘relative’ proficiency in English spoken with a US accent. My Amex card uses a Philippine call centre and I find if I speak with an American accent they understand me better..

Its an unfair term to use and no disrespect to the hard working Filipinos who put in long often unsociable hours to feed the wider family unit but well its ‘grunt work’ This type of work lends itself to AI and these jobs will be the first to be automated.

Frankly if I was working in a call cente right now I would be asking my ‘team leader’ (don’t you just love that phrase) to put me down for further specialist ‘upskilling, analytical’ training. Many Filipinos in call centres have degree qualifications so could take advantage of these opportunities, especially the ones who think ‘outside the box’ many of whom do not because of how the educational and societal system works in the country.

Amazon, which after Walmart, is the largest company in terms of employee count,earlier this week  announced 16,000 layoffs worldwide; jobs that will be automated.

The only question is the time frame involved here. Like self driving cars its inevitable. Unfortunately because of  the way the Filipino economy is structured it is not in a good place to weather the tsunami that AI will bring to the world jobs market. Unlike industrial plant a call centre can be moved or replaced within a 6 week timezone.

One of the outcomes of course will be the demise of Indian call centres. Shame. Bob & I will miss those Indian accents.

Coming back into the workforce here in the PH, I noticed that most company would heavily suggest you use AI if not require the use of it as it is integrated now into SOPs.

@Cheryl

Has Anyone yet heard or seen an impact of AI on the BPO Industry in Manila ? Lot of American companies will be rolling out the AI Agents which by some estimates will take away 80% of frontline BPO jobs in Manila.  Of course there will a few Jobs created as well but the majority of Front line Telephone Support Jobs might be Gone in 6-12 months!

So if anyone has more Actual insight or concrete information about this please Share …..

@KenUSA

Well Ken I guess the 'tell' will be the loss of the Philippine accent at the other end of the line which is quite distinctive for travellers and expats in the Philippines.

The BPO industry currently represents about 8% of Philippine GDP. Added to this one then has to consider the current situation in the Arabian Gulf that potentially could impact on the OFW's from the Philippines if the conflict becomes protracted.

Roughly 10% of GDP comes from overseas Filipino remittances albeit not all from the Gulf. Of course this will mitigate somewhat the condo rental prices in BGC and Cebu IT Park where many BPO workers are located. There is already an overhang of supply in the market in these areas. Good news for expats.

@KenUSA
Well Ken I guess the 'tell' will be the loss of the Philippine accent at the other end of the line which is quite distinctive for travellers and expats in the Philippines.
The BPO industry currently represents about 8% of Philippine GDP. Added to this one then has to consider the current situation in the Arabian Gulf that potentially could impact on the OFW's from the Philippines if the conflict becomes protracted.
Roughly 10% of GDP comes from overseas Filipino remittances albeit not all from the Gulf. Of course this will mitigate somewhat the condo rental prices in BGC and Cebu IT Park where many BPO workers are located. There is already an overhang of supply in the market in these areas. Good news for expats. - @Lotus Eater

The premium BPOs hire people with complete American accents so it sounds like they are local Americans. But regular BPOs are not so picky I suppose and Filipino accents are fine with them.  The AI will probably sound American but they could easily have a perfect British accent or even Filipino accent if they wanted to, at zero cost. As for me, I would take any of those, even Australian or Canadian eh? But the one I could not take is an Indian English accent 😆

...But the one I could not take is an Indian English accent 😆
- @danfinn

Ebonics would be off-putting.

danfinn...But the one I could not take is an Indian English accent

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Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that I had to intervene regarding a comment about accents. While it may be funny to some, it could be offensive to others. Let’s keep the discussion respectful.

Thank you,

Cheryl

Reality Cheryl? Give me a Filipino BPO over an Indian affiliate any day, sorry but being honest.

Cheers, Steve.

Reality Cheryl? Give me a Filipino BPO over an Indian affiliate any day, sorry but being honest.Cheers, Steve. - @bigpearl

It's not just the accent, which is often hard to understand, but also the friendliness factor and patience shown by Filipinos and not so much by the other referenced BPO country. For language, India is the largest English speaking country in the world and they certainly deserve their own dialect but there is a reason that BPOs switched to the Philippines. But now I suppose the AI voices will just be plain American Midwest accent and perhaps British for UK and ANZ.

@danfinn

For language, India is the largest English speaking country in the world

The Brits in some ways are to blame for the Indian call centre explosion. Yup 'Mea Culpa.' We exported the worlds most successful language which in India's case resulted in the call centre phenomenon. We also, and without an iota of an apology,  gave the former colony democracy , the railways and the best civil service in the world for which the average Indian still has a chip on his, or her, shoulder. The benefits of which are incalculable. True the Brits extracted a 'rent' for doing so but hey nothing in this life is for free right?

It might surprise our Forum readers that the population of Mauritius that hosts this very site have roughly a 70% Indian origin. For the record I visited Mauritius in the 90's and have fond memories of my stay. A beautiful country with lovely people. No offence was intended to either Cheryl or her fellow moderators that perhaps mistook my ongoing jibe at Indian call centres the wrong way.

Hello everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know that I had to intervene regarding a comment about accents. While it may be funny to some, it could be offensive to others. Let’s keep the discussion respectful.

Thank you,

Cheryl - @Cheryl

I didn't see the comment, but it sounds as if the comment was true for some.

However, the problem isn't the 'Indian' in Indian call centres, it's the 'call centres'.

It hardly matters if they are based in India or Yorkshire, they tend to be a pain  ... especially the sales ones.

The big issue for me when I get calls from my bank's Indian call centre is the number of scammer setups.  I simple refuse to talk to them, instead asking for a name and call reference to use when I call the known number.

I have had problems in understanding a few of the staff with exceptionally strong accents,  but only a very few.

As for the Philippines, I've never spoken to a call centre there, but I have met a good number of their English teachers here. They all shared absolutely terrible English language skills.

Every one was mostly understandable,  but their limited vocabulary, malapropisms, and atrocious grammar made listening to them hard work.  Still, they're cheaper than good teachers, so there are loads around.

The worst one was trying to teach A level English, but a rough guess would suggest he would be pushing his luck in a CEFR B2 test. For those unfamiliar with CEFR, B2 is grade 6 level in an international primary school.

My comments are based on a sample of around 20 teachers I've had the misfortune to meet.

?

Cheryl said . . . . . Hello everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know that I had to intervene regarding a comment about accents. While it may be funny to some, it could be offensive to others. Let’s keep the discussion respectful.

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Over moderation kills forums.

Cheryl said . . . . . Hello everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know that I had to intervene regarding a comment about accents. While it may be funny to some, it could be offensive to others. Let’s keep the discussion respectful.


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Over moderation kills forums. - @Enzyte Bob

Under-moderation allows nut case tin foil hat rubbish and general extremism.

That kills a forum

I said . . . . Over moderation kills forums.

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Fred said . . . . Under-moderation allows nut case tin foil hat rubbish and general extremism.
That kills a forum

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Over moderation prevents members the chance of reading the opinion of other members.

Under moderation allows freedom of expression to the members.

Under moderation allows freedom of expression to the members. - @Enzyte Bob

It also allows racism, bigotry, arguments, and spammers trying to sell you an overpriced condo.

I said . . . . Under moderation allows freedom of expression to the members.

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Fred said . . . It also allows racism, bigotry, arguments, and spammers trying to sell you an overpriced condo.

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Big deal . . . . .  How much racism, bigotry & spammers is posted? not much compared to the fraternity of members.

So that's more important than regulars being stifled for expressing their thoughts.

I said . . . . Over moderation kills forums. ****************************Fred said . . . .  Under-moderation allows nut case tin foil hat rubbish and general extremism. That kills a forum************************** Over moderation prevents members the chance of reading the opinion of other members.Under moderation allows freedom of expression to the members. - @Enzyte Bob

It is interesting to note that the USA has a freedom index (by Freedom House, widely recognized) of 81/100 while Indonesia , whose culture influences Fred, is 56/100. Given that moderation is proportional to an authoritarian attitude towards freedom of speech, we can see a connection to these freedom indices. No disrespect intended but it seems to corroborate well to the Freedom House rating process.

Big deal . . . . . How much racism, bigotry & spammers is posted? not much compared to the fraternity of members.. - @Enzyte Bob

Some of the first two, but a lot of the latter. You rarely see it because the teams dump it very quickly.

It is interesting to note that the USA has a freedom index (by Freedom House, widely recognized) of 81/100 while Indonesia , whose culture influences Fred, is 56/100. - @danfinn

I would have to see the report but, if it includes porn and other nasty rubbish, the numbers have a chance of being accurate.

I made a police report because a popular app started sending gay porn to my daughter.  They were forced to stop.

That's a freedom I'm pleased isn't allowed. It's sex grooming aimed at kids.

...I made a police report because a popular app started sending gay porn to my daughter... It's sex grooming aimed at kids. - @Fred

Lemme' guess. Netflix?  😁

It is interesting to note that the USA has a freedom index (by Freedom House, widely recognized) of 81/100 while Indonesia , whose culture influences Fred, is 56/100.  - @danfinnI would have to see the report but, if it includes porn and other nasty rubbish, the numbers have a chance of being accurate. I made a police report because a popular app started sending gay porn to my daughter. They were forced to stop.That's a freedom I'm pleased isn't allowed. It's sex grooming aimed at kids. - @Fred

No, it is "Freedom House", respected by many and I'm not surprized you don't know about it. Freedom House is a think tank whose first founder was Eleanor Roosevelt but if you don't want to Google it yourself. fine with me. Nothing to do with gay porn that is illegal if it violates community standards. The internet can be nasty so I hope you either instructed your daughter how to safety navigate it, instituted your own controls or took it away from her if a minor. However, internet being as it is, unless your local police also have competence in cyber crime, most do not, I suspect it was a futile exercise. In any case I would assume this forum would not require moderation grom gay porn unless discussions center on the new mullah of Iran.

...I made a police report because a popular app started sending gay porn to my daughter... It's sex grooming aimed at kids. - @Fred
Lemme' guess. Netflix? 😁
- @Aidan in HCMC

Canva. To make it worse, they sent the emails to school accounts.

Deliberate grooming.

. In any case I would assume this forum would not require moderation grom gay porn unless discussions center on the new mullah of Iran. - @danfinn

You assume wrongly- It's a smaller scale issue, but it has happened.

Trump only makes filthy remarks about pre-pubescent girls.

No, it is "Freedom House", respected by many and I'm not surprized you don't know about it. - @danfinn

That group is funded by the NED (and others)

Take a look at the NED'S board - They are a CIA front (this is very well known). That  makes anything they say suspect at best.

One of my hobbies is researching geopolitical influences on Indonesia -  I added them to my list of seriously suspicious groups.

@Fred

However, the problem isn't the 'Indian' in Indian call centres, it's the 'call centres'.

It hardly matters if they are based in India or Yorkshire, they tend to be a pain  ... especially the sales ones.

Should have stuck with Bradford & Bingly Fred. As a Yorkshireman you would never of had a problem with the “Oohh ack fell up step broke mug” accent