Telecom workers are urging the government to impose limits on the utilization of artificial intelligence in the industry, raising concerns that AI is being employed to oversee employees and alter the accents of overseas call center agents. The Canadian Telecommunications Workers Alliance expressed these worries on April 30 during a session with the House of Commons’ standing committee on industry and technology in Ottawa.
This alliance, comprising major unions like Unifor, the United Steelworkers union, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, represents 32,000 workers in Canada’s telecom sector, including employees at Bell, Rogers, and Telus. Roch Leblanc, the director of Unifor’s telecom sector, highlighted that at least one company was using AI to mask the accents of offsite agents, potentially misleading customers into thinking they were interacting with Canadian-based staff.
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 exacerbate this trend. AI is extensively utilized in telecom to monitor workers, including tracking technicians’ movements and task durations. It can also analyze call center conversations word-for-word to redirect calls or identify sales-related patterns.
The alliance emphasized the need for government restrictions on AI-based monitoring to alleviate psychological stress and reduce workloads. Nathalie Blais from the Canadian Union of Public Employees noted that AI should serve the common good and not mislead or displace workers. The alliance proposed the establishment of a federal working group on artificial intelligence to foster collaboration among government, industry, and civil society in regulating AI implementation.
Furthermore, they advocated for enhanced safeguards for workers’ job security, rights, and the protection of Canadians’ data. Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon assured that the forthcoming national AI strategy will consider the impacts on the labor market.