The Philippine call center industry is a juggernaut, employing over a million and generating billions in revenue.

Its workers¡¯ voices are a familiar sound for callers from around the world, the nation¡¯s deep pool of English speakers underpinning the country¡¯s rise into a global hub for customer service outsourcing.

Artificial intelligence is shaping up to be a huge disruptive force but another, more insidious problem is emerging ¡ª an education system that¡¯s producing graduates who were never properly taught to read in the first place.