AI accent masking at overseas call centres raises concerns in Canada

Union leaders and academics are warning about the growing use of AI to alter call centre workers’ accents in real time, saying the practice could mislead customers and affect Canadian jobs. The issue has drawn attention after labour representatives told a parliamentary committee that at least one major Canadian telecom company is using the technology to mask the accents of offshore agents. Telus Digital has previously described a partnership involving AI speech enhancement to soften accents, while Rogers and Bell say they are not using it in this way. Supporters argue the tools can make conversations easier to understand, but critics say the practice raises transparency and fairness concerns, especially as more customer service work is outsourced abroad. The federal government has said its upcoming AI strategy will address transparency, but it is still unclear whether companies will be required to disclose when voices are altered by AI.