Comment on VCs are starting to partner with private equity to buy up call centers, accounting firms and other "mature companies" to replace their operations with AI

Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

• TheRealKuni@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Having worked in a call center (doing survey research) during college, there are a lot of people employed by such places who really wouldn’t have many employment options anywhere else.

  I remember saying, while there, that the entire industry would be replaced by AI in 10-15 years. They all scoffed, saying they had ways to get people to answer surveys that an AI wouldn’t be able to do. I told them they were being naive.

  Here we are.

  That said, I do worry about some of those people. Just because they were borderline unemployable doesn’t mean they were worthless.

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  • Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    doesn’t mean they were worthless

    Not what I said, on the contrary.
    It’s a horrible mindnumbing job and anyone deserves better.

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    • TheRealKuni@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      Oh don’t worry, I wasn’t accusing you of saying they were worthless. I was just voicing my own concern for some of my former coworkers.

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      • Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        OK

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  • AA5B@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    There was a lot of talk about that when the call centers were sprouting up: generally poor jobs, minimum wage, and liable to be outsourced or ai’d. They were generally put places where there were no real options so those towns are going to suffer when it all goes away

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• SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  I worked in one. It was just a job and not that bad.

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  • Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    Could be but it depends, inbound helpdesk is not the same as outbound selling stuff with targets to be made and clients to convince.

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