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The World’s Call Center Capital Is Gripped by AI Fever — and Fear​

The experiences of staff in the Philippines’ outsourcing industry are a preview of the challenges and choices coming soon to white-collar workers around the globe.

A call center agent at the [24]7.ai, Inc., in Manila’s Bonifacio Global City tech hub, in April.
Photographer: Lisa Marie David/Bloomberg


By Saritha Rai
August 28, 2024 at 5:00 AM GMT+8


While the rest of the world is still debating what artificial intelligence might mean for jobs, citizens in the Philippines are already living in the new reality.

The same relentless drive to cut labor costs that saw back-office roles shipped to the archipelago in the first place is now starting to turn over some of their duties to bots. All of the major players in its vast outsourcing industry, which is forecast to cross $38 billion in revenue this year, are rushing to rollout AI tools to stay competitive and defend their business models.
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HSBC’s Incoming CEO Weighs Cutting Layers of Middle Management​

• Incoming CEO Georges Elhedery looking at country head changes
• Elhedery starts as HSBC’s boss next week as Quinn steps down

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WATCH: Bloomberg has learned that HSBC incoming CEO Elhedery is considering plans that could remove layers of middle management. Adam Haigh reports.
Source: Bloomberg
By Ambereen Choudhury, Harry Wilson, and Denise Wee
August 28, 2024 at 8:44 AM GMT+8
Updated on
August 28, 2024 at 9:19 PM GMT+8
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HSBC Holdings Plc’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery is considering plans that could remove layers of middle management at Europe’s largest bank, mirroring similar moves undertaken by rivals Citigroup Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc.

As part of the deliberations, the London-based lender could cut the number of country heads operating across its worldwide network, according to people familiar with the discussions. Elhedery is also likely to make changes to the executives and roles that will report to him after he takes the reins next month, the people said.
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The AI Chip Behind Nvidia’s Supersonic Stock Rally​

Nvidia H100Photographer: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg
By Ian King
August 29, 2024 at 1:34 AM GMT+8
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When a new gadget sets the technology world alight, it’s usually a consumer product like a smartphone or a gaming console. This year, tech watchers are fixating on an obscure computer component that most people will never even see.

The H100 processor has enabled a new generation of artificial intelligence tools that promise to transform entire industries, propelling its developer Nvidia Corp. to become one of the world’s most valuable companies.

It’s shown investors that the buzz around generative AI is translating into real revenue, at least for Nvidia and its most essential suppliers. Demand for the H100 is so great that some customers are having to wait as long as six months to receive it.

The H100, whose name is a nod to computer science pioneer Grace Hopper, is a beefier version of a graphics processing unit that normally lives in PCs and helps video gamers get the most realistic visual experience.

It includes technology that turns clusters of Nvidia chips into single units that can process vast volumes of data and make computations at high speeds. That makes it a perfect fit for the power-intensive task of training the neural networks that underpin generative AI.

The company, founded in 1993, pioneered this market with investments dating back almost two decades, when it bet that the ability to do work in parallel would one day make its chips valuable in applications outside of gaming.

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