News Summary

Telus has introduced a controversial AI technology through its subsidiary, Telus Digital, that alters the accents of its call centre agents in real time. This technology, developed by Tomato.ai, aims to reduce ‘accent-related friction’ and protect staff from harassment by Canadian customers. However, the use of such technology has been met with backlash from labor advocates who label it as deceptive, arguing it masks the identity and location of agents. The federal government is being urged to mandate disclosure of its use. In contrast, Rogers and Bell have stated that they will not implement such accent-modifying software, setting a different standard in the use of AI for customer service.