Daisy, an AI granny wasting scammers' time (news.virginmediao2.co.uk)

Article summary

O2 has developed an AI-powered 'granny' named Daisy to waste scammers' time by engaging them in conversations, keeping them away from real customers. Daisy is trained using cutting-edge technology and real scambaiter content, making her indistinguishable from a real person. The AI is part of O2's 'Swerve the Scammers' campaign, which aims to prevent fraud and protect customers. By reporting suspected scam calls and texts to 7726, customers can help O2 block scammers' numbers and prevent similar scams.

Main themes

• AI-powered scam prevention
• Fraud protection
• Scambaiting
• Telecom security
• Artificial intelligence

What commenters say

• The use of AI to waste scammers' time is a creative and effective way to prevent fraud, and could be a major breakthrough in the fight against scammers.
• The development of AI scammers could lead to a cat-and-mouse game between AI-powered scam prevention and AI-powered scamming, making it difficult to stay ahead of the scammers.
• Some commenters are skeptical of the telecom industry's motives, suggesting that they prioritize profits over customer protection and may use AI-powered scam prevention as a way to justify inaction.
• The use of AI to block suspected scam calls could lead to false positives, where legitimate calls are mistakenly blocked, causing inconvenience to customers.
• Some argue that the focus on AI-powered scam prevention distracts from the need for structural reform and greater accountability in the telecom industry to prevent fraud.
• Others see the use of AI to waste scammers' time as a form of entertainment, and would like to be able to interact with the AI themselves to see how it works.