On Thursday, the UK’s largest cell community operator, O2, launched a chatbot designed to frustrate telephone scammers. Called “dAIsy,” it mimics an older lady with all types of time to speak – about knitting, her cat Fluffy – with the intention of holding fraudsters engaged as they struggle acquiring her (pretend) financial institution particulars.
A press launch about O2’s “AI Granny” says it combines “numerous AI fashions” that transcribe the caller’s voice into textual content earlier than producing a response by a customized massive language mannequin, then feeding it by a text-to-speech mannequin to provide a voice reply. The AI was educated partially by Jim Browning, a “scambait” knowledgeable with an enormous YouTube following.
It’s enjoyable to see in apply. (O2 says the audio within the video beneath is actual.) If it makes a dent, all the higher. Last yr, the FBI reported that folks over age 60 had been swindled out of $3.4 billion through phone scams, up from $3.1 billion in 2022. With generative AI taking off — and voice impersonation with it — these numbers are poised to balloon.
