Telecom workers are advocating for government limitations on the utilization of artificial intelligence in their industry, expressing concerns that AI is being used to supervise employees and alter the accents of offshore call center staff. The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance presented these worries on April 30 at a session of the House of Commons’ standing committee on industry and technology in Ottawa.
The alliance, which comprises major unions such as Unifor, the United Steelworkers union, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, represents 32,000 workers in Canada’s telecom sector, including those at Bell, Rogers, and Telus. During the meeting, Roch Leblanc, director of the telecommunications sector at Unifor, revealed that at least one company was employing AI to mask the accents of offshore agents, potentially deceiving customers into believing they were interacting with local agents.
According to Leblanc, approximately 20,000 jobs have been lost in the telecom industry over the past decade due to automation and offshoring, with concerns that AI could further accelerate this trend. He highlighted the advanced use of AI in telecom, citing examples of monitoring workers by tracking technicians’ movements and analyzing call center conversations to optimize call routing and sales strategies.
The alliance stressed the need for governmental restrictions on AI-based monitoring to alleviate psychological stress and prevent increased workloads. Nathalie Blais from the Canadian Union of Public Employees echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the importance of utilizing AI for societal benefits and advocating for the establishment of a permanent federal working group on AI to ensure responsible implementation.
In addition to safeguarding job security and workers’ rights, the alliance called for enhanced measures to protect Canadians’ information. Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon assured that the government’s forthcoming national AI strategy would take into account the impact on the labor market.
