August 10, 2026
Bot shock: nobody got fired?
The Philippines' big offshoring industry is growing despite AI
AI was supposed to steal these jobs — instead workers are using it to work even more
TLDR: The Philippines’ huge outsourcing industry is still growing, and some workers are using AI tools to help with tasks instead of losing their jobs to them. In the comments, people argued over whether this proves AI fears were overblown or whether the upbeat story is hiding a harsher reality.
The big plot twist in this story? Artificial intelligence didn’t kick down the door of the Philippines’ giant outsourcing industry — it walked in and became a co-worker. In the Economist piece, Manila worker Trizza spends her nights helping American clients and now uses ChatGPT to turn her dictated emails into something more polished. That little detail set off a delicious comment-section debate: was AI supposed to wipe out these jobs by now, or is it actually giving them a second life?
The strongest reaction was basically: everyone’s predictions were backwards. One commenter said we clearly have terrible instincts about which jobs AI will replace, pointing out that coders were supposed to be doomed, yet they’re the ones paying top dollar for AI tools. Another hot take got a huge laugh because it felt painfully true: AI is powerful, but exhausting — so maybe the dream is paying another human to deal with the AI for you. That’s less robot revolution, more robot middle-management.
But not everyone was buying the upbeat spin. One drive-by jab — “YT videos from Philippines would disagree” — hinted at a darker reality, suggesting online creators are painting a rougher picture than the rosy business story. Others argued AI is helping workers outside the English-speaking world finally access better learning and job opportunities. So the mood was part optimism, part skepticism, and part collective shrug: the robots haven’t taken over, but they have absolutely made the comment section messy.
Key Points
- •The article profiles a Manila-based offshore worker who uses ChatGPT to help rewrite emails in a professional tone.
- •It says the Philippines’ offshoring industry is growing despite predictions that AI would significantly reduce such jobs.
- •The article notes that offshore workers in the Philippines often work late hours for overseas clients and frequently operate in a non-native language.
- •AI is described as increasingly capable of performing traditional offshore tasks such as transcription and customer-query resolution.
- •The piece cites Sam Altman’s previous statement that customer-support jobs would soon disappear because of AI, contrasting that prediction with current industry growth.