Customer service representatives often bear the brunt of public frustration. Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp. has introduced an intriguing solution to this problem: a specialized corporate service designed to transform aggressive, shouting voices into calm, measured tones in real-time.
By leveraging artificial intelligence to filter out the sting of verbal abuse, the company aims to protect employee mental health while ensuring that legitimate customer concerns are still addressed.
AI To Soften the Blow
Developed in partnership with the University of Tokyo, this voice-altering AI does not change the literal meaning of what a customer says, but rather, how words are delivered to the listener. Essentially, it processes audio in real time, and strips away aggressive tones. The system was trained on over 60,000 hours of audio data, ranging from mild irritation to full-blown shouting.
“In many instances, it is difficult to draw a clear line between customer harassment and legitimate complaints,” a SoftBank official noted. “It’s effective to remove just the upsetting element while leaving the content of the conversation unchanged.”
The service is also equipped with operational protections such as an automated warning system: if a call becomes excessively long or the language remains consistently abusive, the AI can issue a formal warning on the employee’s behalf using an automated message. According to SoftBank’s pilot trials, this technology is reportedly highly effective, reducing the psychological burden on staff by more than 30%.
The Rise of ‘Kasuhara’ in Japan
SoftBank’s move is a direct response to the social crisis known in Japan as “Kasuhara” — a portmanteau for customer harassment. For decades, the deeply ingrained cultural philosophy of okyakusama wa kamisama (”the customer is god”) has mandated that employees endure extreme levels of self-sacrifice and politeness, regardless of the customer’s behavior.
This power imbalance can, however, result in high stress levels at places like call centers; according to a 2024 Kasuhara Realities Survey by UA Zensen, nearly 47% of service workers reported being victims of abusive behavior within the last two years.
In the call center sector specifically, the psychological toll often results in turnover rates that exceed other industries, as workers suffer from emotional dissonance — the mental exhaustion caused by suppressing natural reactions to abuse.
SoftBank’s new voice filtering technology marks a broader move toward human capital management, where protecting the mental well-being of the employee is recognized as being just as vital to a company’s success as satisfying the customer.
