Telecom workers are urging government regulations on the utilization of artificial intelligence in their industry, claiming that AI is being used to monitor employees and alter the accents of overseas call center staff. The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance expressed these AI-related concerns during a presentation to the House of Commons’ standing committee on industry and technology in Ottawa on April 30.
The alliance, which represents 32,000 telecommunications workers in Canada, including those at Bell, Rogers, and Telus, consists of major unions such as Unifor, the United Steelworkers union, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Roch Leblanc, the Unifor telecommunications sector director, revealed that at least one company was utilizing AI to disguise the accents of offshore agents. This practice could potentially deceive customers into thinking they are interacting with Canadian-based employees without knowing that the jobs have been outsourced.
Over the past decade, approximately 20,000 jobs in the telecom sector have been lost due to automation and offshoring, with concerns that AI could exacerbate this trend. AI is extensively used in telecom to monitor employees, including tracking technicians’ movements and analyzing their task completion times. Furthermore, AI can scrutinize call center conversations to reroute calls or identify sales-related patterns.
Nathalie Blais, a research advisor with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, emphasized the need for AI to be utilized for societal benefits and not in ways that could mislead individuals or lead to job losses. The alliance is advocating for the establishment of a permanent federal working group on AI to foster collaboration between government, industry, and civil society in implementing the technology.
In addition to seeking stronger job protections and safeguarding Canadians’ information, the alliance is calling for increased oversight on AI use in the telecom sector. Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Evan Solomon, assured that the upcoming national AI strategy will address the impact on the labor market.
