If elected in the 2019 midterm elections, broadcast journalist and senatorial candidate Jiggy Manicad said he would push for a bill aiming to develop the Business Process Outsourcing industry by enhancing workers’ skills and promoting services using artificial intelligence in the country.
“If we want our BPO industry to remain competitive, we have to level up by providing more AI solutions such as in facial and voice recognition, user communication and data processing,” Manicad, who is running independently for the Senate, said in a press statement.
“In the next three, five years, some call center workers will become jobless. Experts say that companies are expected to move their offshore services back home because they have no need for real people accomplishing tasks that can already be done by AI. The logical next step is to train our workers to be the people behind the AI,” he said.
A recent study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimates that AI would contribute $15.7 trillion annually to the global economy by 2030, eclipsing the combined output of China and India.
“We can’t afford to be left behind. There are hundreds of thousands of BPO workers all over the country who will be affected because of new technologies. Our population growth is also not slowing down, so we have to push for new fields that can continue to provide good employment,” he said.
According to Manicad, since the Philippines is already a key global player in the BPO market, it is high time that the country invests in training, skills building, and research to upgrade the capabilities of Filipinos to innovate in the field.
“We need a bill that will institutionalize the steps to be taken to further develop the BPO industry. Ang kailangan natin dito ay budget para sa research at development, training and skills building, at pag-upgrade ng resources para sa mga schools at institutions natin dito,” Manicad shared. “‹