British mobile operator O2 has created Daisy, an artificially intelligent granny designed to waste the time of phone scammers by keeping them on the line for as long as possible.
Anyone can report a fraudulent call or message by sending their number to 7722, where it will be checked and then added to the list of targets …
The longer you can keep a scammer on the line, the fewer innocent victims they will be able to call.
The idea of using a bot to automatically perform this task was popularized by Lenny, a voice chatbot that selects one of sixteen pre-recorded audio clips of what appears to be an elderly man who speaks slowly and is not tech-savvy. Lenny has also been used as a tool against unwanted phone calls.
Despite the limited number of suggested responses, Lenny has sometimes been able to keep unwanted callers on the line for an hour or more.
O2 has now created its own AI-powered version, known as Daisy.
O2 has created a human-like Daisy, an artificial “granny” that answers scammers' calls in real time, keeping them on the phone and away from customers for as long as possible.
After Daisy showed you're not always talking to the person you think you are, O2 is urging customers to remain vigilant, leave the 'scams' to AI experts and report suspected scam calls and texts to 7726 for free.
Watch Daisy in action below.
Image: O2
