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Byte-sized AI: Granny is here to make it all better!
Iâm back for another Byte-sized AI issue, and as promised here are my three things:
- Something techy from the news
- Something that made me laugh
- Something that you can do to improve how you work

The one item of news:
AI granny!
O2 have created an AI that sounds like your gran! The obvious question is âwhy?â. Firstly, it doesnât sound like your gran specifically, that would be weird; itâs a generic gran called Daisy, complete with confusion about technology and a tendency to talk about her cat too much. Still doesnât answer why though.
Itâs actually a weapon in the war against scammers, holding them up on long, rambling calls while they get increasingly frustrated at the inability to stay on subject or do what they want her to do, while seeming like a perfect mark.
This âAI Grannyâ Bores Scammers to Tears
Thereâs a lot of talk about how AI is going to do this, that or the other amazing thing, but I really like the idea of it being used to frustrate scammers, reduce the time they have to scam actual people, and learn more about the techniques and how to block them.
The one thing that made me laugh:
Pilot Whales and Queen
As previously mentioned, I was on holiday when the last issue came out. I didnât go to Burger King though, which is both very sad and probably for the best.
While there I played the most frustrating round of crazy golf Iâve ever played. But I also went and met some Pilot Whales. It wasnât a long meeting, and no one took minutes, but I did get a short video.
I also saw a not-terrible Queen tribute band. I say not-terrible, but honestly it was pretty cheesy. There were certainly moments when I wanted to break free.
The one thing you can do next week:
Goal seek â one for the nerdy types like me
In Excel, once youâve got your data laid out and your formulas working, Goal Seek is a really useful tool.

Letâs use a simple example. Imagine a very simple profit forecast:

But maybe we want to make ÂŁ45 profit by increasing our profit per unit. What do we need to change it to?

The maths here is intentionally simple. Letâs make it more interesting. What if want to make ÂŁ1.5m profit from a projected 391,425 units?

ÂŁ3.83 is the answer. And yes, thatâs still pretty simple (1500000 / 391425) but in more complex data sets it can be really useful in budget, sales and production planning!
Hereâs a longer and more boring page about it.

If you are interested to find out how AI, automation and all things clever can help your organisation why not take a look at Future Workplace, our super special IT consultancy service that can supercharge productivity, business efficiency and so much more.

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Check out past Byte-sized AI issues:
- Byte-sized AI: The machines have taken over Sainsburys
- Byte-sized AI: An extra brain in the room!
- Byte-sized AI: Up, up and⊠back down!
- Byte-sized AI: Something special is happening in the UK!
- Byte-sized AI: A llama with AI and an admission!
- Byte-sized AI: Granny is here to make it all better!
- Byte-sized AI: Say hello to Claude
- Byte-sized AI: Its a little bit of snow!
- Byte-sized AI: Are you thinking deeper?