Biases in AI Technology

I read an article through the list Jon gave us about an AI system that changes the accent of someone not with a Western accent. This is primarily used by telemarketers in India and the Philippines. Feedback from the telemarketers have said they like this system. They can turn it on and off as they please and feel more respected when they can be understood.

However, an Indian-American sociologist, A Aneesh, had some pros and cons about this AI. He appreciated that the telemarketers using it felt more confident on the phone. But had mixed feelings about how they had to go about this in the first place. These employees had to go through trainings to seem more Western by memorizing street names, states and their capitals, relearn how to pronounce words, and even sleep during the day so they can work at night to accommodate for American timezones.

Aneesh sees a bigger problem with this AI saying that it was an indifference to difference. Neutralizing other's accents diminishes the humanity of those on the other end of the phone (the telemarketers).