MANILA, Jan. 31 -- Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to put safeguards for business process outsourcing (BPO) workers who may be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.

A recent study by United States-based technology research firm Gartner said call centers could save up to USD80 billion if humans are replaced by AI by 2026.

"Is the BPO industry in trouble, too? Does Secretary (Alfredo) Pascual, being at the helm of the DTI, have a plan for when more companies invest in AI instead of workers? Malaki ang magiging epekto nito sa ating BPO industry, sa ating ekonomiya, kaya dapat ngayon pa lang handa na ang ahensya sa posibilidad na ito (It will have a big effect in t...