O2 deploys AI grandmother to combat fraudsters

According to a study conducted by the British telecommunications provider O2, a majority of Britons (71 percent) are interested in seeking retribution against scammers who have attempted to deceive them or their loved ones. However, half of the individuals are reluctant to dedicate their time to it.

AI grandma takes on phone scammers

In response, O2 has introduced an artificial intelligence named Daisy. Serving as the “fraud prevention lead,” this cutting-edge AI grandmother’s responsibility is to engage scammers in lifelike conversations to deter them from targeting real individuals for as long as possible. Users can activate Daisy by simply forwarding a suspicious call to the number 7726.

Daisy incorporates various AI models that collaborate to firstly analyze the caller’s voice and transcribe it into text. Subsequently, it formulates responses tailored to the “personality” of the character utilizing a specialized single-layer large language model. These responses are then relayed through a customized text-to-speech model to produce a natural language reply. This entire process occurs in real-time, enabling the tool to engage in human-like interactions with the caller.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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