AI Is Fixing Accents in Call Centers... and That Should Make Us Pause

I was recently invited to speak at Congress about new AI laws. I did not expect that one short comment I made would upset so many people. I mentioned that in the future, AI could change how our voices sound. One moment you sound Bisaya, the next you sound like someone from BGC. I said it casually. But online, many people took it seriously. Some were angry. Some were hurt.

I understand why.

In the Philippines, accents are personal. They tell people where you grew up. They tell your story. We joke about them. We tease each other. But we also carry pride in how we speak. So when people hear “accent neutralization,” it can feel like erasing who we are.

Still, this is a good time to talk about what this technology really is.

Voice accent neutralization is an AI tool that changes how a person sounds. It does not change what you say. It changes how you say it. The goal is simple: to make speech easier to understand for the listener. In call centers, that listener is usually in the U.S. or Canada. About 70% of calls go there. So “neutral” means closer to how Americans or Canadians speak.

This technology is already being used today.

Why do call centers use it? The answer is not mysterious. It helps business. When customers understand agents more easily, calls are faster. There are fewer repeats. Less frustration. That means lower costs and better customer scores.

It also changes training. If you have worked in a call center, you know how much time is spent on voice training. Agents practice vowels. They practice tone. They practice sounding “right.” With AI, much of that work is done by software. Agents can focus on the problem, not the accent.

Some people say this is good for workers. And in some ways, it is. People who were once rejected because of their accent may now get hired. The AI does the adjusting, not the person. Some companies even say this helps people with speech disabilities. It removes barriers.

But there is another side.

Many critics ask a hard question. Why is the “neutral” accent always Western? Why does neutral sound American or Canadian, and not Filipino? If the standard is always Western, then what are we really saying about our own voices?

Some people feel this is a kind of cultural erasure. Others call it dehumanizing. The idea is that if AI must “fix” your accent, then your natural voice is treated like a defect. Something to hide. Something to correct.

As a Filipino, I feel this tension deeply.

Call center work is a huge part of our economy. Millions of people depend on it. And the truth is, this industry has always required adaptation. Long before AI, workers were already asked to change how they speak. AI did not start this trend. It just made it faster and cheaper.

So the real question is not whether this technology will exist. It already does. The real question is how it will be used.

Will workers have a choice? Will they be told when their voice is being changed? Will this technology protect them from bias, or quietly reinforce it? These questions matter.

When I listen to call center workers outside of work, they sound different. When they are on the phone, they sound “neutral.” That split already exists. AI just makes it more obvious.

Voice accent neutralization is not purely good or bad. It is a tool. Like many tools, it reflects the values of the system using it.

The challenge for us is to make sure that while we improve communication, we do not lose respect for identity. We should ask not just what sounds clear, but what sounds fair.

And maybe the most important question is this: in a world where AI can change how we sound, who gets to decide what a “normal” voice really is?

 

 

Links:

Krisp Demo
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1024438729839105

Sanas Demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNjOEqhwBRw

Krisp VA
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ia6ZPwgkMD4

Real Time Talking Avatar
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289118430_Real-Time_Talking_Avatar_on_the_Internet_Using_Kinect_and_Voice_Conversion

Speech Formats of Vowels
https://corpus.eduhk.hk/english_pronunciation/index.php/2-2-formants-of-vowels/

 

About Me:

Dominic “Doc” Ligot is one of the leading voices in AI in the Philippines. Doc has been extensively cited in local and global media outlets including The Economist, South China Morning Post, Washington Post, and Agence France Presse. His award-winning work has been recognized and published by prestigious organizations such as NASA, Data.org, Digital Public Goods Alliance, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.

If you need guidance or training in maximizing AI for your career or business, reach out to Doc via https://docligot.com.

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