Amid rise of AI, BPOs need Filipinos' empathy —IBPAP

While artificial intelligence (AIs) in he workplace is on the rise, an association for the information technology and business process management industry said Filipinos will still be needed for jobs in the sector because of their skills.

According to a "24 Oras" report by Cedric Castillo, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said that business process outsourcing companies continue to hire workers for their operations.

“The Philippine IBPM industry was founded on the bedrock of the Filipino agent’s communication skills, fluency in English, and above all else, our listening and empathy," IBPAP president and CEO Jack Madrid said.

He added that a number of BPO firms have been using AI but only for simple and common client questions.

“Rather than have a human answer the same question over and over, they have chatbots to do that. That employee will be available to work on more interesting value-added work,” he said.

Earlier, Senator Imee Marcos filed a resolution seeking calling an inquiry into the possible effects of AI on BPOs.

In her Senate Resolution No. 591, Marcos said that an Oxford Economics and US-based digital technology company Cisco study predicted that at least 1.1 million jobs in the Philippines would disappear by 2028.

Marcos urged the government to put in place measures to ensure Filipinos would never be out of work. 

The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) also said it is now time to prepare for the possible impact of artificial intelligence, especially with the number of jobless individuals.

“There is no doubt that AI will replace a lot of jobs. Hindi lang basta blue collar jobs, even professions likes doctors, like lawyers. Ang pinag-uusapan lang dito, is how fast it will happen," ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.

"AI is something you cannot stop. Kaya lang, in a country like ours na masyadong dependent sa labor, maraming taong employed, hindi natin alam kung saan natin ilalagay ang mga emoloyees natin. Lalo pa ngayon a thousand to 1 million ang guma-graduate,” he added.

Meanwhile, an IT expert believes that no matter how much companies save on computers compared to human employees, it will not lead to the point where computers will totally replace all employees.

“‘Mas accurate pa siya mag-analyze kesa sa tao, ganon ang capability ng ai at pwedeng mawalan ng trabaho ang mga doctor, laywers. ‘Yung emotion natin hindi kayang palitan ng AI, human emotion wala pa. Pero mukang pwedeng pag-aralan, pwedeng matutunan ng AI,” Art Samaniego, an IT expert, said. —Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News