Artificial intelligence helps fade the accent

2023-09-08 20:04:34, Tech CNA

Artificial intelligence helps fade the accent

In a service center over the phone

A new California tech company is using artificial intelligence to de-stress employees of a company that operates in the field of customer service over the phone, in order to reduce discrimination. But as VOA correspondent Matt Dibble reports, critics say the initiative is eradicating cultural diversity.

In the global economy, customer service calls may be answered by someone on the other side of the world. Employees of companies operating in the field of advertising and customer service are trained for months to communicate properly with customers who have a different language and culture.

Despite these sessions to strengthen their skills, the characteristic speech based on their origins often comes to the fore.

"Almost every day these employees face discrimination and sometimes even abuse," says Sharath Keshava Narayana, co-founder of Sanas.

Mr. Narayana is the co-founder of the California-based company Sanas, which uses technology to adjust a speaker's pronunciation to make the accent less noticeable. As in the case of this employee from the Philippines.

"Hello. My name is Iggy. I'm from Paranaque."

"Hi, my name is Iggy, I am from Parañaque."

"Hi, my name is Iggy, I am from Parañaque."

The distinction is slight, but Mr Narayana says it is helping employees avoid discrimination.

“We are not trying to hide the fact that a person is from India or the Philippines. But the voice should come out clear, create the idea of ??an individual full of self-confidence and insight to encourage the desire of the caller to have a conversation with him", he says.

Discrimination by callers is one of the main causes of dismissals of these employees. Mr. Narayana himself used to work in a customer service office, but while he doesn't excuse the callers' behavior, he says he understands them.

"When they hear the accent, the first thing I see is a lack of confidence in this person. The idea that they have waited a long time to solve a problem and now they are communicating with a person with whom it is difficult to make a voice connection and they have a question mark whether this person can solve their problem", he emphasizes.

Sociologist Aneesh Aneesh says tools like Sanas can help reduce the workload on customer service desk agents.

However, he worries that these applications show the dehumanizing trends in technology, the disappearance of cultural diversity.

"Most of our communication is mediated through some technology. But when technologies begin to change our emphasis, they actually transform our essence," says the sociologist.

Mr. Narayana says that although the Sanas system is not mandatory, 97 percent of employees use it.

“I heard my calls after using Sanas. It sounds like English is my first language, when in fact it is not. A solution through technology that allows me not to change the accent, but the other person understands me very, very clearly. Isn't that something wonderful? ", he says.

At the moment, artificial intelligence seems to help people connect with each other./ VOA