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entry · p2026-09-06-007 · validated

AT&T Voice Recognition Call Processing (HMM/word-spotting speech recognition)

3,000 to 6,000 non-management positions from its operator services organization by the end of 1994
tech
att-vrcp
passes the definition as
speaker-independent word models trained on recorded caller speech, spotting keywords in what the caller says
from
1992
region
US
domain
work
side
loss
people
18,000 AT&T telephone operators (1992)
effect
6,000 jobs (1994) — up to 6,000 non-management and 400 management operator positions eliminated, 31 offices in 21 states closed
reversible
no
who holds the switch
owner:AT&T
attribution
named
source kind
secondary
the statistic
AT&T announced on 3 March 1992 that voice-recognition handling of operator-assisted calls would let it eliminate up to 400 management and 3,000-6,000 non-management positions from operator services by the end of 1994 — about one third of its 18,000 operator positions — closing 31 offices in 21 states.
source
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-03-04-1992064191-story.html
proposed by
researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-1930-1989
received
2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00
harvest report
impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-1930-1989.md

Rulings, in order

  1. 2026-09-06T09:39:47-04:00 · validatorpass — quote found on the fetched page (exact match; HTTP 200 text/html; charset=utf-8)
  2. 2026-09-06T09:59:36-04:00 · sessionseverity — 6,000 operator posts eliminated, livelihood lost
The proposal as it arrived (JSON)
{
 "id": "p2026-09-06-007",
 "received": "2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00",
 "proposer": "researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-1930-1989",
 "kind": "entry",
 "sha": "fb353013feaa6c81",
 "data": {
  "kind": "entry",
  "tech": "att-vrcp",
  "tech_name": "AT&T Voice Recognition Call Processing (HMM/word-spotting speech recognition)",
  "definition": "speaker-independent word models trained on recorded caller speech, spotting keywords in what the caller says",
  "from": "1992",
  "region": "US",
  "domain": "work",
  "side": "loss",
  "people": {
   "n": 18000,
   "unit": "AT&T telephone operators",
   "date": "1992"
  },
  "effect": {
   "n": 6000,
   "unit": "jobs",
   "date": "1994",
   "what": "up to 6,000 non-management and 400 management operator positions eliminated, 31 offices in 21 states closed"
  },
  "reversible": false,
  "switch": "owner:AT&T",
  "statistic": "AT&T announced on 3 March 1992 that voice-recognition handling of operator-assisted calls would let it eliminate up to 400 management and 3,000-6,000 non-management positions from operator services by the end of 1994 — about one third of its 18,000 operator positions — closing 31 offices in 21 states.",
  "source": "https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-03-04-1992064191-story.html",
  "quote": "3,000 to 6,000 non-management positions from its operator services organization by the end of 1994",
  "attribution": "named",
  "source_kind": "secondary"
 },
 "from_file": "impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-1930-1989.md"
}