Mutter Bundle #7: Escaping Hypocrites, Scammers, and See-No-Evil Businesses to Stirling’s Streets
14 Nov 2024 08:42
Ever met those people who, under the guise of being all caring and concerned, just spread panic and fear around the clock, 24/7, with no lunch or toilet breaks? With their seemingly well-intentioned, safety- and wellbeing-focused warnings, they create an atmosphere where danger lurks around every corner, making you feel like you should only move around on your toes — or, better still, crawl, constantly looking over your shoulder. The best course of action, according to them, is inaction — ideally, never leaving the house. And then, as soon as the person they’re "protecting" decides to take reasonable precautions where it actually makes sense, those same people passionately try to talk them out of it.
15 Nov 2024 18:40
There's a good chance that we are strangers to each other in the sense that I don't personally know you, and you don't personally know me either. But even so, I’m almost willing to bet I’m not wrong when I say this: the most shameless liars you’ve met were those who feigned innocence, going on and on about how, “Poor me, I'm just totally incapable when it comes to lying or trying to hide the truth,” not forgetting to add that if only they could tell a lie, their life would be so much simpler, easier, and generally stress-free.
And as for the most spineless traitors... well, those were likely the ones who criticised you — or someone else — for... guess what? Oddly enough (though, let’s be real, it’s not odd at all): treason, betrayal. What they really meant by betrayal, however, was the refusal to stick with a group, loyalty to which they saw as non-negotiable, simply because you were somehow automatically placed into it, whether because of your genes, place of birth, cultural context you've been immersed in since birth, or some other factor you had no say in. Even when that group had completely abandoned its moral compass by spiralling into madness and crossing the line between good and evil, into a territory as far as possible from anything resembling dignity, empathy, or humanity.
16 Nov 2024 09:41
Chances are, you’ve stumbled across a video or two where someone completely owns a phone scammer, messing with them and keeping them on the line as long as possible. While these scammer-pranking moments can be a solid 10 out of 10 on the creativity and trolling scales, the real win lies in wasting the scammer’s time. Every minute spent on a prank is a minute they can’t use to target an actual vulnerable victim.
It looks like the UK's Virgin Media O2 has just introduced its very own scammer-slaying recruit: Daisy. Daisy is a chatty grandma with a twist — she’s entirely AI. That means no sleeping, no tiring, and an endless capacity to take on mission after mission, tricking scammers into thinking they’re talking to a sweet old lady while she cheerfully wastes their time.
It’s an intriguing concept, though its effectiveness, of course, remains to be seen.
Sources:
https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/15/o2_ai_granny/
https://news.virginmediao2.co.uk/o2-unveils-daisy-the-ai-granny-wasting-scammers-time/
17 Nov 2024 11:35
Ever walked into a business where the frontline staff deal with a wide range of the general public, day in, day out, yet there isn’t a single 'Zero tolerance for aggression towards our staff' sign in sight? What’s your take on why that is? An innocent oversight? A 'see no evil, hear no evil, and brush the evil we do see under the carpet' attitude? Or does management genuinely not view it as part of the bare minimum care they owe their employees?
17 Nov 2024 15:09
A walk in Stirling, Scotland.
