MANILA - Automation will impact business process outsourcing (BPO) companies by eliminating low level work, but it will also enhance the effectiveness of the human work force, according to a Filipino businessman and innovator in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

"It really depends on the maturity of the company. If you do mostly transactional work, or repetitive work, then yes you're in danger," said Gian dela Rama, chief executive officer of Innovantage.

"AI moves at a blistering pace. Next year you may actually see solutions that replace a call center agent in voice," Dela Rama told ANC's Early Edition.

"You'll have the Alexas of the world, connected to a CRM (customer relations management), and the voice at the other end might be a bot," he added referring to Amazon's intelligent personal assistant.

Dela Rama however insisted that not all was bad with regards to AI's impact on employment. He said that BPOs that deal with higher level work can actually benefit from AI as it enhances the abilities of their existing workforce.

"It's about providing people, humans with superpowers," he said.

Dela Rama said AI solutions like 'assistive intelligence' can free BPO workers from repetitive tasks and allow them to concentrate on work that really matters.