As pandemic-related budget cuts come to call centers, organizations turn to chatbots like IBM's Watson to filter calls, reducing the need for human operators (Karen Hao/MIT Technology Review)

Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
As pandemic-related budget cuts come to call centers, organizations turn to chatbots like IBM's Watson to filter calls, reducing the need for human operators  —  Covid-19 is accelerating job losses in an industry that was already automating work at a rapid pace.  —  Brian Pokorny had heard of AI systems for call centers before.