Fujitsu, a general electronics manufacturer, Toyo University, and the Kokoro Balance Institute, which promotes preventive mental health, have begun a demonstration experiment of an educational program that uses an AI tool to experience customer harassment. The experiment will continue until the end of March and will be used to develop a scientifically based program.
According to Toyo University, the pilot project will combine Fujitsu's generative AI technology and behavior change support technology with Toyo University's knowledge of criminal psychology to add a communication function with an AI avatar to a customer harassment experience AI tool, clarifying actions that can improve participants' ability to deal with customer harassment.
Furthermore, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the training for participants, the Kokoro Balance Institute will utilize its knowledge of mental health to develop indicators for evaluating the ability to respond to customer harassment.
The participants in the demonstration experiment are employees of the Fujitsu Communication Services call center, a Fujitsu Group company. The program will be developed based on analysis of participants' customer service skills, stress management skills, and changes in subjective productivity.
According to a survey by the National Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Distribution and Service General Workers' Union, 46.8% of service industry workers have experienced customer harassment in the past two years, and nearly half feel that it has had a lasting negative impact on their mind and body. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has added mental disorders caused by customer harassment to the criteria for recognizing industrial accidents, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has passed the nation's first customer harassment prevention ordinance, and efforts to protect employees are being called for within companies.
