Telecom Develops AI ‘Grandmother’ Bot to Distract Phone Scammers
On November 15, UK’s largest mobile network operator, O2, launched “DAIsy,” an AI chatbot that mimics elderly speech to disrupt phone scammers or any bot scam with lengthy conversations.
Scammers often exploit older individuals, convincing them to share sensitive information or send money under false pretenses. By “scambaiting,” Daisy, the AI grandmother wastes scammers’ time, ensuring their efforts do not lead to actual harm.
According to O2, Daisy’s phone number is deliberately placed on “easy target” lists used by scammers, effectively drawing them away from vulnerable individuals.
How Daisy Works to Fool a Bot Scam
When a phone scam happens, scammers call DAIsy to get a lifelike voice mimicking slow, meandering speech typical of the elderly, offering fake information like bank details, to prolong the call. DAIsy’s effectiveness lies in wasting scammers time without exposing anyone to harm, with demonstrations showing frustrated scammers spending over 40 minutes with no progress
It utilizes slowness, as is often with elderly people talking to one’s advantage in processing conversations in real time. In this way, it is greatly effective to cause people behind phone scamming, who rely on rapid, manipulative tactics to get their sensitive details from the seniors to derail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_SdCfZ-0s
Challenges and Broader Implications
While the deployment of Daisy is one step in the right direction in reporting phone scams, it also brings us several steps closer to worry about the misuse of such AI technology. Deepfake voices have already been used to impersonate company executives or loved ones to deceive unsuspecting individuals into transferring money.
Experts say the ultimate solutions remain blocking such fraudulent calls and dismantling any scamming bot organizations. While carriers like O2 have stepped up their detection and blocking capabilities, scammers also rely heavily on automated dialing tools and constantly change their phone numbers.
Even though it has yet to reach completion, the AI bot scam protective tool DAIsy is a yet another offering from tech world for the elderly to fight it back. The AI chatbot frustrates scammers by wasting their time while mitigating these malicious operations’ risks. But again, awareness and technological development will be the answer to fighting any telephone bot scam as fighting telephone scams ultimately depends on awareness before anything else.
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