Technology Partners

Our Team

Our Awards

A team of people smiling and holding up their hands while holding paintbrushes

Social impact hero

Social Impact

Newsroom

Careers

About Us

Contact

Do Not Sell my Personal Information

Cookie Preferences

Culture Value Chain

iLabs Center for Innovation

Industries

Insights

Investor Relations

Locations

TELUS International is a subsidiary of: 

Privacy Shield Framework

Customer Privacy Policy

Solutions

Subscribe to Newsletter

Website User Terms

Icon twitter

Icon facebook

Icon youtube

Icon linkedin

Technology

Financial Services & Fintech

Automotive

Healthcare

Communications & Media

Games

eCommerce

Travel & Hospitality

hero bulgaria locations

Bulgaria

A man in a brightly lit room smiling while on his phone

hero guatemala locations

Guatemala

Hero Morocco Locations

Morocco

hero romania locations

Romania

An aerial view of Cape Town, South Africa.

Hero South Africa Locations

South Africa

hero india locations

India

hero china locations

China

hero us locations

United States

Spain-Hero

Spain

hero philippines locations

Philippines

hero ireland locations

Ireland

Cityscape with Galata Tower and Gulf of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hero Türkiye Locations

Türkiye

hero el salvador locations

El Salvador

germany-hero

Germany

Europe-Hero

Additional European Centers of Excellence

infobrief

Guide

Resource Type Article

Article

case-studies thumb

Case Study

Preventing fraud for a global tech company in the travel and hospitality space image with fern in background

TI resource case 900x510

Video

whitepapers thumb

Research & Reports

checklists thumb

Checklist

brochures thumb

Brochure

ebooks thumb

E-book

Podcast Type Image

Podcast

IDC Info Snapshot - Content Moderation thumbnail

In this IDC Info Snapshot, discover the benefits of engaging an experienced CX partner for content moderation to safeguard your online communities.

IDC Info Snapshot - content moderation hero

IDC Info Snapshot - content moderation feature image

Expanding content moderation capabilities helps fast-growing brands earn customer trust 

Video game illustration of a character approaching a large sculpture among ruins

SEO Image - Adaptable support for growing games companies

The games industry can be challenging for start-ups and new entrants. Get the adaptable support you need to navigate uncertainty.

Preview image of the brochure Adaptable support for growing games companies

TI resource brochure port 900x510

Adaptable support for growing games companies

Joining us on the TELUS International Studios podcast is Aidan Connolly, CEO at Cainthus, president of AgriTech Capital and author of the strategic business planning book, 2-1-4-3, a Plan for Explosive Business Growth. Aidan dives into his outlook on the future as a self proclaimed ‘unusual leader.’

In this episode, you’ll hear Cainthus CEO Aidan Connolly’s outlook on new technologies and the future of customer experience.

Landing-page-hero-image-Aidan Connolly

Podcast-Banner-Aidan Connolly

Check out our solutions

Customer Acquisition

Is your business plan future-proof?

A copy of the Digital customer experience priorities in 2023 report on top of a green leafy plant.

Digital Customer Experience Priorities 2023 Preview Image

TELUS International, in partnership with Statista, surveyed 250 enterprise leaders to explore where they plan to invest in digital customer experience (CX) technology in 2023. Uncover the results.

An illustrated representation of customer profiles and leaving a five-star review online.

Digital Customer Experience Priorities 2023 Hero

Survey results: Digital customer experience priorities for leaders in 2023

A copy of the outsourcing locations e-book on a white tablet on top of a green fern.

Outsourcing Locations E-book Feature

Discover some of the top outsourcing destinations for consideration and the factors to keep in mind as you make your decision.

Feature-Landing-Image Locations Outsourcing

Selecting the best outsourcing destination for your business

You've heard of product-market fit, but what about profit-market fit? Learn the difference and how scaling tech brands can achieve it.

Illustration of two people shaking hands and two overlapping squares

profit market fit

Why achieving profit-market fit is essential for scaling brands

A preview image of the case study document overlaying green grass.

Streamlining operations and kickstarting the digital transformation journey - preview image

Uncover how TELUS International’s business process consultants helped a leading financial services brand optimize its operations, enhance its customer experience (CX) and begin its digital transformation journey.

Happy customer support agents sitting at computers and speaking on headsets.

Streamlining operations and kickstarting the digital transformation journey - feature image

Streamlining operations and kickstarting the digital transformation journey of a leading financial services brand

The cover of The future of content moderation: Strategies and tools for 2023 and beyond e-book with a fern in the background.

The future of content moderation: Strategies and tools for 2023 and beyond

Organizations have a responsibility to create and maintain digital experiences that are truthful, welcoming and safe. Learn how brands can keep pace with the growing levels of user-generated content (UGC) to build trust with their customers and protect their reputation.

An illustration of various people creating user generated content on their phones.

Facing hurdle after hurdle with your sales growth strategy? Persevere with these effective strategies.

sales challenges

Proven strategies to break through sales challenges

Preview image of the report "CX outsourcing in 2023" accompanied by a plant

TI Resource WhitePaper 2023

Delve into new insights about customer experience outsourcing from a survey of 712 enterprise executives with strategic decision-making authority.

Illustration of customer support agents surrounded by related iconography like charts, star ratings and text boxes.

CX Outsourcing2023 Hero Image

Cover image for the dynamic report "CX outsourcing in 2023" featuring the title and illustrations of customer support agents and related iconography 

CX Outsourcing in 2023

Executive survey results: CX outsourcing in 2023

Player support outsourcing isn't just for Triple-A studios. Learn about the benefits of outsourcing for growing games companies.

games outsourcing

What growing games companies can gain from player support outsourcing

Germany's diverse and talented workforce make the European nation an ideal CX outsourcing destination. Read up on all the benefits.

Photograph of the 'Reichstag' in Berlin, Germany

germany

Don't overlook Germany as a CX outsourcing destination

Thumbnail image of IDC Info Snapshot - CX

IDC Info Snapshot - CX

Discover the advantages of partnering with an experienced CX service provider to scale your operations in this IDC Info Snapshot.

IDC Info Snapshot - Customer Experience hero

IDC info snapshot CX feature image - five stars

IDC info snapshot CX feature image

Why fast-growing brands need an experienced CX service provider to scale operations 

Robert Zirk: What comes to mind when you hear the word "panorama"?

You're watching a short video. It's a "panorama sourdough recipe," and you're a bit confused. I mean, this loaf doesn't look any wider than any other sourdough bread loaf you've seen.

You swipe up. But the next video doesn't sit right.

This person is spreading misinformation about the "panorama." And you've seen reliable sources debunk this, but the number of shares on this post is concerning. You report it.

The next video talks about working from home during the "panorama".

Or maybe it's the "panini". Or maybe it's the... "Backstreet Boys reunion tour"?

What they're really referencing is the COVID-19 pandemic.

These are examples of algospeak, an online extension of our continuously evolving language. And on today's episode of Questions for now, we'll ask: what is algospeak and how can brands keep up?

Welcome to Questions for now, a podcast from TELUS International where we ask today's big questions in digital customer experience. I'm Robert Zirk. Before we get into keeping up with algospeak, we need to define algospeak, and somewhat ironically...

Dr. Jamie Cohen: It's a fun word because it's actually algospeak. The word is a form of algospeak.

Robert Zirk: That's Dr. Jamie Cohen, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at CUNY Queens College, and his area of focus is on internet culture.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: Algospeak is shorthand for algorithmic speech, which is just to move around an automated algorithmic system. To put it in better terms is that we use an internet that's content moderated.

Though we think the internet is basically open and full of information, we're actually watching it through the filter of content moderators, which are sometimes human based and sometimes AI based.

Robert Zirk: And together they work in tandem to screen this content for anything inappropriate for a general audience.

AI does a lot of the heavy lifting in filtering out a lot of the clear terms of service violations. But when users use or change their language beyond the words that are in the dictionary, it can get a little tricky.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: So it ends up being not seen by the AI, or they end up finding some ways of changing some of the letters so it's invisible to the screen, or even scratching them out. But algospeak is one step further.

That is when the user starts adopting that fake language that they made to avoid the algorithm in verbal speech. So now they start saying the words that are made for the screen to avoid content moderation.

Robert Zirk: And while the word "algospeak" itself might be a relatively new term, this concept predates the internet. It's part of how we as humans communicate.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: A lot of the keywords or terms that we use are filtered through would be considered the Overton window. Like, what is acceptable speech? What can you say out loud? What words are okay where you don't get in trouble for them?

So people have figured out how to mismanage language. Mismanagement of language is part of the human condition. It's how we communicate. It's part of shorthand and making sure that the in-groups understand the information. Before the internet, we've always been using word replacement, or at least word collapsing, or a nicknaming that sticks.

One example that a linguist often gives is the term "hussy" comes from the word housewife. And so it's turned from something that was pretty standard into something derogatory over time. We don't actually know sometimes that these words have origins or etymologies that predate other terms that we aren't even used to, like P. T. Barnum, who's basically the guy who came up with modern forms of advertising, used such different language that we'll never use today.

But at the time, it was, like, the most important way that people interacted with content. And so, neologisms, meaning the invention of new words, is just very much part of how humans have created new ways of reflecting things that the public adopts to. Over the course of time, pre-internet, we've either tightened or loosened our language depending on what communities you're in.

And then post-internet, now we have machines that tighten or loosen the language we interact with.

Robert Zirk: So why do people use algospeak?

Siobhan Hanna: Culture, youth culture, trends, meme culture, and then in some instances, there are certain groups within culture that may be influencing language for less benign reasons.

Robert Zirk: That's Siobhan Hanna, managing director and vice president at TELUS International AI Data Solutions. It's the AI training data division of TELUS International, and Siobhan and her team work with brands to leverage AI in ways that create a safer internet for all.

Siobhan Hanna: So it could be hate speech, or political groups, or political cultures could be incubating their own algospeak. And then I think safety can drive the genesis of algospeak in some instances as well, because there may be the need to be evasive in communication and it can be designed to mask meaning.

Robert Zirk: So from a brand perspective, is algospeak a bad thing?

Siobhan Hanna: I certainly don't believe that algospeak is all bad, and of course I know you're asking rhetorically. I think it's relatively neutral.

There are instances where of course it's problematic, whether that is because it's offensive or could result in a safety, a harm issue. But I certainly think, actually, it can help to create affinity in some ways. It actually can help to reinforce safety in some ways. I just think it's organic, right? I think it's just part of how language has always evolved. This is just a different means of how that is happening.

Robert Zirk: And Dr. Jamie Cohen concurs that the measure of whether algospeak is a good or bad thing, depends entirely on how it's being used.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: I think algospeak is a very savvy way of interacting with this content. Trust and safety is a very important part of all social media platforms. And I think without that, safety is the biggest concern. Not just for people, but for brands. You don't want your advertisement showing up next to something that's wildly inappropriate. Even on the basis of like marginally inappropriate. When people come up with algospeak, they're actually figuring out ways to continue being expressive and using the platform in their style while simultaneously being aware that safety exists. So I think they work in tandem, but I think without algospeak, that actually the platform becomes stale. I think the update of language is actually pretty important to the update of internet culture, and internet culture moves way faster than standard culture so it's very interesting to watch that.

And what happens with language, especially internet cultural language, is it becomes a meme, and the only way to feel like you're attached to that content is by repeating it because you know that the person watching the video already knows what you mean.

Robert Zirk: A 2022 TELUS International survey indicated that 44% of Americans use social media to make their opinions known on societal issues, and Siobhan noted the well-intentioned use of algospeak has helped to drive awareness and even make some progress.

Siobhan Hanna: Algospeak helps them to find affinity and to express, and to understand landscapes and where they find their people. I think we all are aware of instances where there have been safety issues, whether it's a natural disaster or whether it's a cultural event where, certain groups maybe were marginalized, and you could identify them and provide support based on their use of certain terminology or algospeak.

Robert Zirk: And it can build a sense of community among marginalized folks, which is so important, especially when they feel isolated or uncomfortable being themselves in their day-to-day life offline.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: One nice thing about algospeak is it helps young folk who are struggling with identity see other people speaking openly about their identity. It is the bridging of disparate people who may not have felt like somebody was like them, and using social media the way it's supposed to be. That's why it is social media. It does create community. It creates an ability for others to know that you're not alone.

Robert Zirk: It's that sense of connection that the internet makes possible.

Dr. Jamie Cohen: And it allows you to communicate or connect across vast spaces and cultures. It helps people specifically in like, not just marginalized folk themselves, but places of less privilege. People who can't actually speak out loud in their community, like you mentioned. People who can't speak out loud at work.

People who use censored language just in everyday speech just to remain safe can now find a space to exhibit this online. What's nice about the reverse is that when they learn the coded language, the algospeak, they might learn where those in-groups may exist. And just by using those keywords, they're kind of signaling to people who already know these keywords and now allowing them to find their community offline as well.

Robert Zirk: But algospeak can just as easily be used to spread hatred, misinformation and illegal content.

Siobhan Hanna: It really can be a safety issue. Online platforms have a responsibility to do their very best and help to ensure the safety of the users' platform. So when there is a safety element, they have a responsibility to evolve those guidelines.

And that is a very serious focus within content moderation, and it has a lot of considerations around training and around quality and around evaluation and evolution guidelines.

Robert Zirk: So if algospeak tricks the algorithms, why doesn't it trick us? How does a coded language become generally understood?

Siobhan Hanna: Algorithms are informed by artificial intelligence and before there's artificial intelligence, there's human intelligence. And then, the fact that, you know, as humans we have the ability to understand nuance and context. That context could be cultural or could be geographical, or it could be any form of context.

Is your business plan future-proof?

Subscribe and listen:

Share

Be the first to know

Check out our solutions

Related insights

Why achieving profit-market fit is essential for scaling brands

Adaptable support for growing games companies

Proven strategies to break through sales challenges