The IT Nerd

This is really bonkers.

A Globe and Mail (Paywalled) story popped up in my news feed with this:

The voice you hear on the other side of a call-centre interaction might soon sound a little more familiar, thanks to an AI tool that adjusts speech in real time – but not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.

Telus Digital, the wholly owned division of Telus Corp. responsible for customer experience and call centres, has deployed artificial-intelligence technology that alters the accent of customer service agents.

In a post on the company’s website explaining the benefits of speech enhancement, Telus Digital says the technology, provided by a third-party company called Tomato.ai, uses speech-to-speech models to transform live audio.

It works by encoding the speaker’s voice, modifying pronunciation-related features, then decoding the speech back into audio, the company said.

“These models directly modify the acoustic features of speech, preserving the speaker’s voice while improving clarity and reducing accent-related friction,” the company wrote in its post. “This approach allows the solution to address mispronunciations without altering the speaker’s identity or emotional tone.”

Other companies that provide a similar feature say it helps speed up calls and help customers find solutions, while protecting service agents from harassment or discrimination.

Telus Digital provides the call-centre support for the company’s Canadian telecom subscribers, as well as other clients globally.

Where do I begin with this one?

So on one hand, I can see what TELUS is up to here. They know that certain accents from certain ethnic groups rub some people the wrong way. Which in my opinion says more about those people than TELUS or those who are contracted to work for TELUS. So using AI to fix that could be considered a viable path to make customer interactions easier for those people. But here’s the flip side in my opinion. This can easily be perceived as being inherently racist with TELUS being perceived as being the bad guy here as they are covering up the fact that they outsource their customer service. Related to that, a really cynical person could easily say that rather than use AI to do this, TELUS should hire “Canadians” instead. Which opens up a whole can of worms in terms of what defines a “Canadian” because a “Canadian” can have a non

Honestly, TELUS in my opinion created a PR problem that it didn’t need to create. They may want to rethink their life choices as this really doesn’t look good for them. And they need to do something quickly before this blows up more than it already has.

In a seminal boost for Canada’s future innovators, TELUS President and Chief Executive Officer Darren Entwistle and Fiona Entwistle, who was a volunteer director of the TELUS Vancouver Community Board and the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation Board of Directors for a combined 12 years, have announced a landmark $1 million personal donation to the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation that will significantly expand the TELUS Student Bursary program. This transformative gift will officially launch the Entwistle Technology Bursary, designed to open doors for underserved youth pursuing post-secondary education in science, math and technology, and who are committed to making a positive difference in their communities. The new fund aims to level the playing field for young people who are committed to making a real difference in their communities but face financial hurdles impeding the realization of their post-secondary and technical vocation education ambitions.

This seminal gift builds on Darren’s long-standing dedication to supporting underserved citizens, including donating 50 per cent of his salary to support TELUS-designated COVID relief efforts across Canada in 2020. Moreover, this generous donation arrives just as the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation prepares for its annual gala on June 18, inspiring further community support to help Canadian youth reach their full potential. Applications for the 2026/27 academic year have surpassed past years, and the Entwistles’ generosity will enable the Foundation to support even more students starting in Fall 2027. Based on the Foundation’s long-term investment strategy for the gift from the Entwistle Family, it is anticipated that the resulting endowment will provide at least 15 additional bursaries annually (and indefinitely), creating an ongoing legacy of support for the next generation of technology leaders. 

Learn more about the TELUS Student Bursary and how you can also support the next generation of Canadian leaders at friendlyfuture.com/Bursary. 

Today, TELUS launched its 21st annual TELUS Days of Giving, mobilizing more than 100,000 volunteers across 30+ countries in one of the world’s largest corporate volunteer movements. Throughout May, TELUS team members, retirees, and partners will come together around the world to give back in their local communities through hands-on initiatives that deliver meaningful, local impact at global scale. What started as a localized effort in the early 2000s has evolved into a worldwide movement that reinforces TELUS’ commitment to year-round community engagement. Last year, 90,000 volunteers gave back in 34 countries, marking the third consecutive year TELUS team members and retirees contributed 1.5 million volunteer hours globally. 

At a time when volunteer participation in Canada has declined from 41% in 2018 to 32% in 2023, and many charities are struggling to meet growing demand, initiatives like TELUS Days of Giving are more important than ever. 

During the month of May, participants will engage in a wide spectrum of volunteer opportunities, including: 

• Supporting young families by packaging essential infant and child gear and clothing at BabyGoRound in Vancouver, BC
• Helping feed hungry families by assembling food hampers and essential hygiene kits with GlobalMedic in Toronto, ON
• Beautifying green spaces by gardening and planting flowers at the outdoor sanctuary at WellSpring in Calgary, AB
• Supporting the homeless by sorting and preparing food items for distribution at Mission Bon Accueil in Montreal, QC
• Improving shelter and living conditions for rescued animals at Every Dog Matters in Sofia, Bulgaria

To learn more or join in building a friendlier future for all, visit telus.com/purpose.

Indspire and the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation are proud to announce a four-year, $500,000 partnership to support Indigenous students pursuing post-secondary education through Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries and Scholarships (BBF) program and the TELUS Student Bursary program. With federal match funding, this partnership represents a total investment set to deliver $1 million to empower Indigenous youth, offering up to 320 TELUS Student Bursaries to First Nations, Inuit and Métis students who are enrolled in their first undergraduate diploma or degree program at recognized post-secondary institutions acr

Award recipients gain access to a full suite of resources including TELUS Internet and TELUS Mobility for Good programs (where available), 24/7 mental health support through TELUS Health, mentoring, internships, and career development opportunities, creating a holistic pathway to success.

How to apply
Applications for the TELUS Student Bursaries made available through this partnership can be submitted annually through Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures program. For more information, visit indspirefunding.ca/telus-friendly-future-foundation. 

Canada’s healthcare system is still struggling with a basic challenge: patient information doesn’t always move easily between providers.

According to insights referenced in TELUS Health’s new Agentic AI discussion paper, 71% of physicians say interoperability across data and records would significantly reduce administrative burden. Yet many electronic medical record systems still function primarily as digital filing cabinets – storing information rather than helping care teams coordinate it.

The paper explores how AI-powered EMRs could help bridge that gap. By connecting data across providers, pharmacies, virtual care platforms, and health authorities, AI tools can help clinicians track longitudinal patient information, surface relevant insights, and coordinate care more effectively across settings.

For clinicians managing hundreds or even thousands of patients, that kind of system support can be critical – helping identify care gaps, monitor trends, and reduce the manual work required to piece together fragmented patient histories.

The discussion paper also examines how these systems can operate within Canada’s strict healthcare privacy frameworks. Solutions are designed to work within regulated environments governed by legislation such as PHIPA and PIPEDA, while supporting secure collaboration across care teams.

You can read the discussion paper here:

EN: https://go.telushealth.com/hubfs/whitepapers/telus-health-agentic-ai-discussion-paper-en.pdf
FR: https://go.telushealth.com/hubfs/whitepapers/telus-health-agentic-ai-discussion-paper-fr.pdf

The TELUS Friendly Future Foundation announced its third annual gala will take place on June 18, 2026 at the iconic TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto. As young Canadians face increasing challenges ranging from mental health concerns to employment barriers and financial hardship, the gala brings together Canada’s business, philanthropic, technology, and cultural leaders to raise funds to address these urgent issues. Since its inception, the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, with the support of the 13 Canadian TELUS Community Boards, has provided $137 million to support youth across Canada. In 2025 alone, the Foundation exceeded $10 million in impact through grants that fuel critical youth-focused health and education programs and student bursaries that empower the next generation of changemakers to pursue their post-secondary dreams.

All funds raised from the gala directly support the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation’s mission to help youth reach their full potential through two vital programs:

• The TELUS Student Bursary awards up to $5,000 annually to more than 500 deserving post-secondary students facing financial barriers and committed to giving back to their communities. Beyond financial aid, recipients gain access to comprehensive wraparound support including free or heavily discounted TELUS Mobility and Internet for Good plans, mental health services through TELUS Health and professional development opportunities. Since launching in 2023, the program has supported 2,000 students, with more than 50 per cent of all recipients being the first in their families to pursue higher education. 
• TELUS Community Board Grants, which help fund critical, youth-serving charitable programs. The Foundation and its 13 Canadian TELUS Community Boards provide $6 million in grants annually to more than 500 local charities across the country. These grants support innovative, technology-enabled health and education programs that help millions of youth develop critical skills, confidence, and a deep sense of belonging in their communities.

The Together for Tomorrow Gala has become Canada’s premier philanthropic event dedicated to youth empowerment. Building on the success of the first two galas – which raised over $5 million – this year’s event, hosted by television personality Cheryl Hickey, promises an extraordinary evening of entertainment and impact. The night will culminate with an exclusive, one-night-only headline performance by four-time Grammy award winner Lionel Richie. Following the gala, guests are invited to continue the celebration at the afterparty with DJ Jake Wahlberg. A live auction will offer exclusive experiences and opportunities, giving guests the chance to bid on unique items while directly supporting the Foundation’s mission.

The Foundation would like to express a special thanks to TELUS, its many sponsors, donors and volunteers who help make this remarkable event possible.

For more information about the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation Gala, please visit friendlyfuture.com/gala. To learn more about gala sponsorship and attendance, please email info@friendlyfuture.com. 

TELUS is expanding its Connecting for Good programming, which builds stronger and healthier communities across Canada by ensuring no citizen is left behind and has access to world-leading technology, to now include TELUS SmartEnergy for Good. A first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada, TELUS SmartEnergy for Good is designed to advance energy equity by providing vulnerable households with access to smart energy technology at a subsidized monthly service cost. The first phase of SmartEnergy for Good has launched in Ontario, equipping eligible low-income households with the tools and technology they need to reduce energy consumption, lower their utility bills, and contribute to Canada’s climate targets.

The program is open to qualifying low-income Ontario residents, including seniors, families, and youth aging out of government care. Through TELUS SmartEnergy for Good, qualifying customers will receive a subsidized comprehensive SmartHome Energy management package  including: a monthly TELUS SmartEnergy subscription, a smart thermostat rental, two energy monitoring plugs, and professional installation.

TELUS SmartEnergy is a subscription-based energy management solution helping Canadians save money on their energy bills and reduce their environmental footprint. Subscribers can save up to 15 per cent on energy bills by, among other things, automating temperature settings and powering down unused devices, while monitoring usage through personalized insights in the app.

Beyond subsidizing SmartHome technology, the initiative educates households on energy cost reduction while supporting Ontario’s emission reduction targets by reducing grid strain during peak demand. As part of its environmental commitment, TELUS will plant four trees per year on behalf of each participating household, contributing to carbon sequestration and climate resilience.

TELUS plans to bring SmartEnergy for Good to additional provinces across Canada later this year. To learn more, visit telus.com/smartenergyforgood.

TELUS has launched the world’s first smart home AI assistant with Generative UI, rolling out to SmartHome+ customers over the coming weeks. The TELUS SmartHome Assistant processes voice, images, sensor feeds and videos in real time to dynamically create a personalized interface based on user needs. It addresses the smart home industry’s biggest challenge — a fragmented user experience across disparate devices and apps from various brands. Rather than toggling between different apps, the TELUS SmartHome Assistant provides one intuitive interface that truly understands and responds to the user and the entire connected home. TELUS is making it possible to unify more than 2,000 device models, including many of the biggest brands, into a single intelligent interface that makes the connected home experience even better.

The TELUS SmartHome Assistant is evolving in real time as more connected devices are added and it continuously improves its own performance based on experience. If you ask it to disable the TV during homework time, it won’t just tell you it did, it will build the automation UI visually, so you can edit and confirm the new routine with just a few taps. Take a photo of a device that isn’t working and get an instant troubleshooting guide. Ask it if your dog walker showed up on schedule and it checks your cameras to tell you when they arrived and shows you a clip of them leaving the driveway. Rush out the door to get to work, and ask it to turn off the lights, make sure the iron’s unplugged, set the thermostat to eco mode, and lock the front door — then get it to create a routine, so you can set it and forget it. By understanding multiple types of input, the assistant can provide tailored solutions, with a dynamic interface, in real time.

Since launching SmartHome+ in late 2024, TELUS has rapidly expanded the platform with industry-leading innovations, including Automation, Video, SmartEnergy, and now its AI-powered assistant, the TELUS SmartHome Assistant — all accessible through the TELUS SmartHome+ app.

TELUS SmartHome Assistant is available now to all Canadians, and new subscribers to SmartHome+ can save up to $125 on smart devices and 50 per cent off professional installation when they sign up and stay subscribed for 24 months, making it more affordable than ever to transform a residence into an intelligent, cohesive and connected home.

For more information about SmartHome+ and to subscribe to any or all of the Automation, SmartHome+ Video and SmartEnergy subscriptions, visit telus.com/SmartHomePlus.

Photonic Inc. today announced a new level of partnership with TELUS, a world-leading communications technology company powering next-generation connectivity and digital innovation. Together, the companies are jointly pursuing projects advancing quantum-secure networking capabilities and delivering quantum solutions that will provide social and economic value and transform industries worldwide. As a first demonstration of this collaboration, Photonic and TELUS have achieved a significant technical milestone—a world-first quantum teleportation of its kind—proving that TELUS’ existing fibre optic infrastructure can reliably carry quantum information. 

Photonic used TELUS’ existing PureFibre network to successfully transfer quantum information over 30 km of installed commercial fibre. Using their Entanglement First™ architecture, a unique approach that combines silicon-based qubits and native telecom band photonic connectivity, Photonic teleported information into a matter‑based quantum processor that can retain, store, and use that information. Unlike previous demonstrations over commercial fibre, which relied solely on photonic qubits that could be measured but not further processed, this achievement completed the transfer of quantum information to a remote processing node, a critical capability for establishing long-distance quantum networks and commercial-scale quantum computers.

Building on the 2024 partnership, Photonic and TELUS’ collaboration agreement covers an expanded set of projects at the intersection of Photonic’s expertise in distributed quantum computing and quantum networking technologies and TELUS’ industry experience and state-of-the-art PureFibre telecommunications network. This new agreement paves the way for the delivery of products and infrastructure supporting a range of commercial quantum solutions, from quantum data centres to nationwide encrypted networks for ultra-secure, tamper-evident transfer of information.

Photonic is accelerating the path to large-scale, fault tolerant quantum systems with their Entanglement First™ Architecture. This demonstration highlights an advantage of Photonic’s highly connected, modular system design – the ability to leverage established telecommunications infrastructure to achieve commercial scale. Ongoing access to TELUS’ world-class PureFibre network gives Photonic a real-world deployment environment as it delivers scalable distributed quantum computing and networking.