Dial T for Transformation: Call Center's Accent Makeover Goes Viral

Teleperformance, the world's largest call center company, has employed AI technology to "neutralize" Indian employees' accents in real-time. Sanas, a startup that develops accent translation software, received $13 million investment from the company. The company does this with the hopes of improving customer satisfaction and streamlining call handling times through Indian agents being more easily understood by Western clients. The technology, built with zero latency, is all part of a €100m investment in artificial intelligence partnerships at Teleperformance. While the business says this amounts to "more intimacy" during customer interactions, critics say that it could result in cultural homogenization as well as ethic questions over respecting genuine communication. 
Source: Bloomberg, via various sources such as The Telegraph and TechCrunch