In response to the surge in AI-related scams, a mobile operator is launching a unique defense—an AI grandma named "Daisy. " Virgin Media O2, a UK mobile network, introduced Daisy in a blog post, describing her role as keeping scammers occupied by answering calls. Here's Daisy's approach to combating scammers. When scammers dial numbers designated by the mobile operator, an AI chatbot, nearly indistinguishable from a human, picks up the call. O2 developed this chatbot, which sounds like an elderly woman, using advanced AI technologies and multiple AI models, with input from YouTube scam-busters like Jim Browning. During calls, Daisy transcribes the scammer’s voice into text, and a response is generated on the spot using a custom large language model that incorporates a character personality.

This response is voiced through an AI text-to-speech system. This process is seamless and real-time, demanding no extra action from users. Though Daisy may sound frail, she's designed to thwart scammers. She might digress into tales about her grandkids, feign ignorance about technology, or give out false banking details, thus wasting scammer's time and shielding real victims. A demo video showcases Daisy's effectiveness. She starts by asking about "Three Ws then a dot?" when discussing websites with a scammer, recounts a story about her cat, Fluffy, and rambles until the scammer, frustrated, remarks, “I think your profession is bothering people, ” realizing they've been on the call for nearly an hour. Daisy has held conversations with numerous scammers lasting up to 40 minutes, demonstrating her realism. Beyond diverting scammers, Daisy aims to educate people on phone call authenticity, reminding O2 customers to stay alert and report suspicious calls.