Kids who can’t read risk Philippines’ status as call center hub

The Philippine call center industry is a juggernaut, employing over a million and generating billions in revenue.

Its workers’ voices are a familiar sound for callers from around the world, the nation’s deep pool of English speakers underpinning the country’s rise into a global hub for customer service outsourcing.

Artificial intelligence is shaping up to be a huge disruptive force but another, more insidious problem is emerging — an education system that’s producing graduates who were never properly taught to read in the first place.