Telus Deploys AI to Alter Call-Agent Accents in Real Time — Rogers and Bell Refuse to Follow

Let's Data Science / Hacker News·medium signal

Telus Digital deployed Tomato.ai's speech-to-speech models to alter the accents of customer service agents in real time, claiming it reduces 'accent-related friction.' The United Steelworkers union confirmed the tech is already in use between Canada-based and Philippines-based agents, and labour groups are demanding mandatory disclosure. Rogers and Bell both explicitly confirmed they will not use accent-modifying software, drawing a competitive line on AI ethics in Canadian telecom. 184 points and 148 comments on HN.