At first glance, Daisy seems like your typical sweet grandmother. She adores knitting, chats endlessly about her family, shares a cozy home with her cat Fluffy, and has little aptitude for modern technology. But behind this façade lies a high-tech secret: Daisy is a conversational AI chatbot developed by British telecom giant O2, designed to combat fraudsters by mimicking human behavior.
Launched earlier this month, Daisy is at the forefront of a growing trend that sees AI deployed both as a tool to perpetrate scams and as a weapon to fight them.
A Global Problem
Online scams are a massive and growing issue. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, over $1 trillion was lost to online scams in 2023 alone. The FBI reported a record $12.5 billion in fraud losses in the U.S., but AI has also proven transformative in countering scams. For example, the U.S. Treasury Department credits AI with helping recover $1 billion in check fraud in the last fiscal year.
Daisy’s Clever Approach
Daisy’s mission, as explained by O2, is simple but effective: “to talk with fraudsters and waste as much of their time as possible, keeping them away from real victims.” Daisy engages scammers in long, winding conversations, often lasting up to 40 minutes.
Murray Mackenzie, Virgin Media O2’s director of fraud, highlights the scale of the problem: “With scammers operating full-time call centers to target Brits, we’re urging everyone to remain vigilant.”
Last year, Virgin Media O2 blocked over £250 million (approximately $315 million) in suspected fraudulent transactions, equating to one blocked scam every two minutes.
Daisy’s Tech-Savvy Design
Daisy’s voice and persona were crafted in collaboration with London-based advertising agency VCCP, modeled on the grandmother of one of their employees. Leveraging a custom large language model, Daisy autonomously chats with scammers in real time. While she doesn’t intercept real calls, she uses a collection of phone numbers that O2 intentionally circulates online to attract scammers.
“She’s shared long-winded stories about her family, her passion for knitting, and even made up bank details,” VCCP said, highlighting how Daisy plays into scammers’ biases, especially their tendency to target the elderly.
The Psychology of Scammers
Research by O2 revealed that people hesitate to bait scammers themselves due to fear of wasting their time. Daisy, however, has “all the time in the world,” often exasperating her fraudulent callers.
One scammer was overheard yelling, “It’s nearly been an hour!” Another accused Daisy of making a career out of annoying people. Her calm reply? “I’m just trying to have a little chat.”
The Future of AI in Combating Scams
Daisy’s success underscores the potential of AI in protecting consumers. While online scams remain a significant global challenge, innovative solutions like Daisy demonstrate how technology can help turn the tide against fraudsters.
Source: CNN
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