Call Center Company Uses AI To Change Workers’ Accents
The world’s biggest call centre company, Teleperformance, is using artificial intelligence to “neutralise” Indian accents for Western customers.
Teleperformance said it was using AI software on phone calls in order to increase “empathy.” It says that with the software, call centre workers are less likely to be abused and customers are less likely to demand to speak to a supervisor. It is already used by companies including Walmart and UPS.
Teleperformance has 90,000 employees in India and tens of thousands more in other countries.
Vocabulary
call centre company – a business that handles large volumes of telephone calls for other corporations, usually for customer service, technical support, or sales, “The call centre company hired fifty new agents to handle the busy holiday rush.”
artificial intelligence – technology or computer systems that can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, or translating languages, “Doctors are using artificial intelligence to analyze medical scans more quickly.”
neutralise – to stop something from having an effect, or to make something less noticeable, distinct, or powerful, “The chef used a splash of lemon juice to neutralise the strong flavor of the fish.”
accents – distinctive ways of pronouncing words that are typical of a particular country, region, or social group, “The tourists had beautiful British accents that were very easy to recognize.”
empathy – the ability to understand, share, and be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of another person, “Showing empathy means listening closely when a friend is going through a hard time.”
abused – treated cruelly, violently, or with harsh and disrespectful language, “The referee was verbally abused by angry fans after making a controversial decision.”
demand – to ask for something very firmly and forcefully, refusing to accept a ‘no’, “The upset passengers began to demand a full refund for their canceled flight.”
supervisor – a person who manages, oversees, or is in charge of a group of workers or activities, “If you have a problem with your schedule at work, you should talk to your supervisor.”