AI fluency

Amid the political noise in the country, buried underneath is the fact that the global advancement in technology is at a dizzying speed. Therefore, if we are too preoccupied with some useless politicians’ and their minions’ inflammatory rhetorics and conspiracy theories, we will be left behind.

          As we speak, robotic process automation (RPA) or, simply, robotics, is already making huge contributions in the economies of the developed countries in the world. Though there are stark disparities in approaches, these developed countries’ businesses are continuously gearing up for different methodologies that would enhance their capabilities. 

          Notably, several years ago, we keenly examined several start-ups and found out that most of them were all tech or tech-driven companies. One of them, Replicant, raised money for its “autonomous call center.” Its AI bot (with a conversational and “human-like” voice) was touted to resolve simple issues over the phone. While intricate issues are routed to a human agent, it was said that “the bot employs deep learning to understand the intricacies of humans’ sentences, and can fully resolve certain customer service inquiries.”

          Incidentally, it is not the only company that develops AI bots. This simply means, the supply of AI bots will soon inundate the BPO industry (call centers, in particular). 

          Notably, we are considered the call center capital of world. It is also noteworthy that out of the IT-BPM Sector’s 2026 projected revenue of US$42 billion, more than 80% is attributed to contact centers (or call centers) sub-sector. That’s huge in any language. Therefore, if AI bots like Replicant will inundate in the near future, the potential downside is so huge to ignore.

          While industry players tend to trivialize this threat, let’s try to figure out what could be the consequence of Replicant’s success. Reportedly, as of early this year, “Replicant has already automated over 1 billion phone minutes, indicating massive adoption.” It “experienced 2.5× year-over-year revenue growth following the launch of a new, fully agentic platform.”  Cautiously, “Replicant claims its AI agents achieve higher customer satisfaction (CSAT) than human agents in certain scenarios, with 90% of calls resolved without escalation in some use cases.” And if true, as it claimed, that “Replicant has demonstrated the ability to reduce customer service costs by 50%–75%,” then, that is worth looking into.

          Well, we can always say, human intelligence is irreplaceable. Yes, that is quite accurate because bots can’t handle complex issues. The question, however is, how many do we need for jobs that require human intelligence. Remember, it is an undeniable fact that some of our call center agents are just handling repetitive tasks or transactional work. Concerns or tasks that can be easily undertaken by AI bots. 

          Indeed, with the pace by which robotics and AI develop, as a country whose economy largely depends on services, the future of jobseekers could be bleak or scary. Remember, just as we thought that robots or AIs can simply take care of menial or repetitive jobs or those done by high school graduates or college undergraduates, the highly equipped professionals could be into stiff competition too. 

          Truly, the pace of change is remarkably fast. So that, regardless of profession or occupation we are in, the need to embrace this development is paramount. We need to realize that in the coming years, intelligent systems will not only take all clerical and repetitious tasks from us. That these bots will even take over more and more decision-making tasks from us, humans.

          Therefore, there is a need to exploit these powerful technologies. How? By, first, understanding it. Just like any tool we can find in our households, we can’t use it if we do not understand the way it works and what it can do. We don’t have to know how it is being made.  We only need to know their distinctive characteristics and how they can help solve real and pressing problems. 

          Admittedly, AI bots or systems are already powerful today and are capable of improving quickly. It can surely surpass us in many aspects. If there is any consolation, it is the fact that we are human beings. That we are emotional beings. That AI bots or systems can’t replicate that.

          Therefore, what we essentially need to do now is to recognize the strengths and limitations of both artificial intelligence and human intelligence and find ways to work together. 

          Simply put, just like learning a language, be AI fluent.He also thanked all member states for their trust, support, and constructive participation as the Philippines concluded its role as chair of the summit.