Developing Countries Need Broader Skills, and Money Is the Hard Part
In Bangkok, Lisa Abramowicz says nations that rely heavily on call centers must upgrade talent, and finding capital is the hard part.
Bloomberg Daybreak: US Edition · Deadly Houthi Strike Raises War Risks; Judge Halts Trump TV AdsIn October, at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Bangkok, Lisa Abramowicz, a Bloomberg journalist, said developing countries trying to keep up face competition for capital and pressure from artificial intelligence.
She said, “Competition for capital clearly is very much front and center, especially for the developing countries that are trying to keep up.”
In her words: “They need to protect their economies from artificial intelligence, from becoming obsolete.” She added, “It’s not just good enough to have robust economies.”
She used call centers as her example, saying, “if they're doing all of the call centers, they need to diversify to have a broader base of talent and to upgrade their talent so that they're not left behind or rendered obsolete by some of the technology.”
The obstacle, she said, is paying for that shift. “So there's a question of how to access that capital and at what cost.”
Questions people ask
Why would AI threaten call-center work in particular?
Much call-center work is repeated questions with standard answers, like tracking orders, resetting passwords, or explaining bills. New voice and chat tools can handle those exchanges cheaply and around the clock. Jobs that need calming an upset caller, solving an unusual problem, or knowing local rules are harder to automate.
What does broadening talent look like for a developing country?
It usually means schooling and training for office, sales, technical support, and other service jobs, rather than relying on one kind of phone work. It can include English, computer skills, and programs run with employers. The shift takes time, and countries often need loans or investors to build the schools and training systems.