At a time when AI scams are on the rise, one cellular operator is preventing again — with an AI grandma.
In a weblog put up, UK cellular operator Virgin Media O2 launched “Daisy,” an AI granny whose sole objective is to reply the telephone and preserve scammers busy.
This is how Daisy works.
If a telephone scammer occurs to name one of many particular numbers arrange by the cellular firm, an AI chatbot that is “indistinguishable from an actual individual” solutions the telephone. O2 says it skilled the elderly-woman-sounding chatbot on a number of cutting-edge AI applied sciences and a number of other AI fashions. As well as, well-known YouTube scammers like Jim Browning helped with the coaching.
As the decision progresses, the AI listens and transcribes the caller’s voice into textual content. A response is straight away generated by a customized giant language mannequin with a personality character layer after which run by a customized AI text-to-speech mannequin that generates a reply.
This occurs in actual time, with no further enter wanted.
Sadly for scammers, whereas she would possibly sound weak, Daisy is not a straightforward goal.
She would possibly inform meandering tales about her grandkids or hobbies, be extremely tech-illiterate, or give out unsuitable banking info that leads nowhere. Both method, she’s tying up scammer’s time and taking them away from actual victims.
In a demo video, Daisy begins by not realizing what a web site is and asks the individual on the opposite finish, “Three Ws then a dot?” She additional explains that every one she sees on her display is an image of her cat, Fluffy, and ultimately trails off right into a wandering story that prompts the exasperated caller to snap, “I believe your career is bothering folks” and “It is practically been an hour!”
Daisy is so lifelike, as her creators clarify, that she has efficiently conversed with quite a few fraudsters for 40 minutes at a time.
Along with the principle aim being losing time, Daisy has one other objective, which is to indicate folks that you just’re not at all times talking to the individual you suppose you’re on the telephone. O2 encourages clients to stay vigilant with any telephone calls and report something suspicious.
