In a creative move to tackle the rising threat of phone scams, O2 has introduced Daisy Harris, an A.I.-powered virtual granny designed to engage and confound scammers.
A.I. Granny Fights Fraud with Friendly Chats
A.I. Granny Fights Fraud with Friendly Chats
O2's Innovative Use of A.I. to Combat Phone Scams
Daisy Harris, a friendly A.I.-generated grandmother, loves to chat about mundane topics—like her knitting or cat, Fluffy—while inadvertently wasting scammers' time. Launched by British telecommunications company O2, Daisy aims to disrupt the overwhelming surge of fraudulent calls that have plagued millions worldwide. These scams have become a significant issue, with tens of millions of calls made daily and an estimated loss of over $1 trillion to scammers.
The idea behind Daisy is to create a robotic presence that can engage in lengthy, nonsensical conversations with fraudsters, allowing scammers to be tied up and ineffective. Morten Legarth, one of the developers of Daisy, emphasized that while human "scambaiters" can only engage a limited number of scammers, artificial intelligence can handle thousands at once, significantly increasing the effort to thwart their activities.
Over recent years, the rise in scam phone calls has become increasingly alarming. Reports from Hiya, a phone security company, indicate that these fraudulent calls are not just common but have reached a staggering level. The introduction of Daisy Harris represents an innovative approach to harnessing A.I. technology in the fight against this epidemic of deception.
