Fighting Back Against AI Scams with an AI Grandma
Introducing Daisy, the AI Granny
At a time when AI scams are on the rise, one mobile operator is fighting back with an AI grandma. Virgin Media O2 has introduced "Daisy," an AI granny whose sole purpose is to answer the phone and keep scammers busy.
How Daisy Works
If a phone scammer happens to call one of the special numbers set up by the mobile company, an AI chatbot that’s "indistinguishable from a real person" answers the phone. O2 says it trained the elderly-woman-sounding chatbot on several cutting-edge AI technologies and several AI models. In addition, well-known YouTube scammers like Jim Browning helped with the training.
The AI’s Response
As the call progresses, the AI listens and transcribes the caller’s voice into text. A response is immediately generated through a custom large language model with a character personality layer and then run through a custom AI text-to-speech model that generates a reply. This happens in real-time, with no additional input needed.
Tying Up Scammers’ Time
Unfortunately for scammers, while she might sound vulnerable, Daisy isn’t an easy target. She might tell meandering stories about her grandkids or hobbies, be incredibly tech-illiterate, or give out wrong banking information that leads nowhere. Either way, she’s tying up scammer’s time and taking them away from real victims.
A Demo of Daisy’s Conversations
In a demo video, Daisy begins by not knowing what a website is and asks the person on the other end, "Three Ws then a dot?" She further explains that all she sees on her screen is a picture of her cat, Fluffy, and eventually trails off into a wandering story that prompts the exasperated caller to snap, "I think your profession is bothering people" and "It’s nearly been an hour!"
Conclusion
Daisy is so lifelike, as her creators explain, that she has successfully conversed with numerous fraudsters for 40 minutes at a time. In addition to the main goal being wasting time, Daisy has another purpose, which is to show people that you’re not always speaking to the person you think you are on the phone. O2 encourages customers to remain vigilant with any phone calls and report anything suspicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How does Daisy work?
A: Daisy is an AI chatbot that answers phone calls and responds to scammer’s queries in real-time.
Q: Is Daisy effective in stopping scams?
A: Yes, Daisy has successfully conversed with numerous fraudsters for 40 minutes at a time, tying up their time and taking them away from real victims.
Q: How was Daisy trained?
A: O2 trained Daisy on several cutting-edge AI technologies and several AI models, with the help of well-known YouTube scammers like Jim Browning.
Q: What is Daisy’s purpose?
A: Daisy’s main purpose is to waste scammers’ time and show people that you’re not always speaking to the person you think you are on the phone.
