Senator Calls on Proactive Approach as BPO Industry May Get Affected by Emergence of AI

The Senate is taking a proactive approach in dealing with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT by Open AI, as Senator Risa Hontiveros, urges the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday to prepare the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector and place safeguards for workers amid the continuous improvement of AI.

This comes as United States-based technology research firm Gartner said on August 31, 2022, that there will be increased usage of AI in call centers by 2026.

“By 2026, conversational artificial intelligence (AI) deployments within contact centers will reduce agent labor costs by $80 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide end-user spending on conversational AI solutions within contact centers is forecast to reach $1.99 billion in 2022,” Gartner said in a press release.

It added “Gartner projects that one in 10 agent interactions will be automated by 2026, an increase from an estimated 1.6% of interactions today that are automated using AI.”

Hontiveros said that the DTI should have a plan in the event companies choose to use AI instead of humans.

She added that it will have a huge effect on the industry, especially that a large part of the Philippine economy relies on the BPO industry.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT by Open AI has been a cause of concern for workers in multiple industries. In the Philippines, where the country rakes in around USD30 billion annually, calls for a proactive approach regarding technology are becoming common.

The Philippines earns as much on the BPO industry as it does on overseas workers’ remittances. (GFB)