NCAA women’s basketball switched from halves to quarters two years ago, but Siri didn’t get the notice. Ask Apple’s digital assistant for a women’s tournament score, and she’ll excitedly inform you that the game was a thriller—going to double overtime.
Last night I was sitting in bed, exhausted and sick, when I decided to yell questions at Siri about Barbara Bush’s height. I had recently read a report on Jezebel.com about Siri claiming Barbara Bush is just four feet tall, and I wanted to try it for myself. None of my coworkers believe me, but what happened next was…
Barbra Streisand, the only living legend of stage and screen with a mall in her basement, pronounces the second “S” in her last name with a soft “S.” Say it wrong—like Apple’s A.I. personal assistant Siri does—and she will correct you, even if it means directly calling head of Apple Tim Cook to do it.
Following criticism of Siri’s inadequate responses to the phrase “I was raped,” Apple has made its voice assistant better equipped to react to questions about sexual assault.
As we increasingly rely on digital assistants like Apple’s Siri or Samsung’s S Voice, many question the extent to which these systems should be programmed to respond to crises like rape or domestic assault. For the time being, a recent study finds, they’re scarcely of any use.
Siri, queen of shade, is not afraid to put ignorant fuckheads in their places when they need to be put there. Last week, she railed against people who didn’t know you can’t divide zero by zero. This week, we’re learning she will not tolerate transphobia.
Welcome to Shade Court! Fourth of July! Independence! Magic Mike XXL is out! Let’s continue the theme of all things America with a bit of litigiousness.
Siri does something right for a change. Yes, let's.
The not-quite human voice that emanates from your phone or GPS or other device is, more often than not, female. It's an obvious pattern, and one that many have claimed has a simple technical explanation: Female voices are easier to understand. The only problem is that it's not true.
Over the past couple weeks, nearly every friend I have (ALL THREE OF THEM) has invited me to go see the new Spike Jonze movie Her and for reasons even I don't understand, my impolite response has continually been one of aggressive disinterest. I dunno — I'm sure Her is good and all, but the fact is that it fails to…
One of the world's greatest, most enduring mysteries has finally been solved. No, we haven't figured out what Stonehenge is for, how the pyramids were built, who really killed JFK, what caused the Bloop, the identity of the man in the Taman Shud case, or why Jennifer Aniston keeps getting roles in major studio films —…
Like most everyone in possession of an iPhone, I have a very contentious relationship with Siri: she never tells me jokes, she refuses to learn my name, and she's often extremely judgmental of me ("I'm sorry, I don't have any results for 'goat tree'. Would you like me to Google it?" she will often say in a…
The turtle-necks over at Apple HQ have recently posted a job listing to find a new speechwriter for Siri, the personal assistant application that runs on the more recent models of the iPhone.
Siri may deny knowing Samuel L. Jackson and be irritated by certain members of the Deschanel family that insist on asking insipid questions about the weather, but she apparently does like some people. In the newest ad for Apple's iPhone 4S, she and John Malkovich seem to share quite a deep connection. Well, as deep…
Siri can be used for many purposes — from telling Zooey Deschanel that when water falls from the sky, that's called "rain" to claiming she doesn't know who Samuel L. Jackson is (seriously! Ask her! She'll lie!) But did you know that Siri can also be a malevolent entity worthy of her own series of R. L. Stein books?
If you think Siri gets bitchy when you ask her about Zooey Deschanel, wait until you see what she does when confronted with Jooey Deschanel. He's Zooey's "brother," and he seems to be suffering from some kind of adorkable spectrum disorder that allows him to drive Siri over the brink. "Siri, you wanna take a soup…
I'm beginning to think there's something fishy going on between Siri and Zooey Deschanel. I asked Siri some very straightforward questions about her homeslice Z, and Siri basically refused to discuss the situation with me. Behold:
British tween Charlie Le Quesne and his mom were shopping at a store in England when he picked up an iPhone 4S on display and innocently asked Siri, "How many people are there in the world?" The 12-year-old, expecting the phone's automated assistant to give him a number, got a real shock when instead Siri answered,…
Earlier this week, it was widely reported that Siri won't locate abortion clinics. It's a troubling thought that the magical device you carry in your pocket may not share your views on women's reproductive rights. However, today an Apple spokeswoman told the New York Times that Siri isn't necessarily harboring…
Ever wonder why so many automated voices—think the iPhone's Siri, your GPS lady, the woman who gives you your voicemail—are female? NPR's Scott Simon did a little digging into this topic, and the consensus seems to be that women's voices are used because they're perceived as being more comforting. As one expert put…
