Siri, Are You Really That Great? | Teen Ink

Siri, Are You Really That Great?

February 15, 2013
By mburns15 BRONZE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
mburns15 BRONZE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

“Good morning, Siri!” and “How are you, Siri?” or even “Siri, will you marry me?” have become phrases heard fairly commonly in many households across America. The insertion of Siri, a speaking computer, into in a tiny compartment of the iPhone has been an innovation that has been raved about across the globe. But has it lived up to the success it was expected to have? It is a fact that people everywhere can ask sometimes useful, but also often very trivial questions of a small rectangular personal computer that can be pulled from one’s pocket in the blink of an eye. Siri may help for most of the needs it was created for, but it has become a laughingstock for some people to simply play games with. In some hands, Siri has evolved from a helpful tool to vocally search for the nearest restaurant to a ridiculed toy used for the amusement of teenagers.

A Google search of “funniest things to ask Siri” supplies some good laughs and many websites to scroll through. There is even a website titled “S%&# Siri Says” giving a reader plenty to chuckle at. It is apparent that Apple, the creators of our dear friend Siri, had a lot of fun creating her, for she’s a ball of energy with plenty of programmed witty responses trapped in a little black box at the disposal of anyone owning an iPhone 4S.

Siri, the iPhone user’s own personal assistant, could potentially assist with arranging anything for anyone, but how accurate is she? Many complaints have been registered regarding Siri’s precision in correctly identifying what a person says or commands and retrieving a solution properly. When she was created, Apple thought Siri was the “next big thing”, but just a year after release of the iPhone 4S, the fuss over her supposed greatness had died down enough that she had become just the annoying voice no one used anymore. If and when Siri is used by teenagers, it is usually as a practical joke to show their non-Siri-using friends what funny response Siri will have if they ask a strange question. For instance, someone asked the question: “Siri, do you believe in God?” to which she replied “Humans have spiritualism. I have siliconism”. Or “I love you, Siri!” resulting in the response “Oh, I bet you say that to all your Apple products.” It is crazy to think of the time and effort put into making Siri, only to have many peoples’ only use for her to be as an entertaining game to talk to. Siri even has a little sassiness built into her programming, such as when a user asks how much she cost, they would get the response of “nothing you could afford”.

Siri can also be a security risk even when an iPhone is locked, for even then talking to Siri can still allow access to contacts, send text messages, and even make phone calls, demonstrated in a blog known by the name of Tips4Tech. This is seen as a major security issue with businessmen and even high school students who require privacy on their phones.
The creation of a person’s very own virtual assistant worked into a small cellular device was meant to be a remarkable new innovation that would get everyone talking. At first this was actually the case, but the new device has become an object of some mockery in many cases. Siri’s usefulness is often put to the test with insignificant questions such as “where can I hide a dead body”, to which Siri quickly gives the asker a list of nearby ditches or dumps in which to stash the figurative corpse. With all her talents, it is hard to believe she could not be put to better use. So Siri, tell me, just how amazing are you?



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This article has 1 comment.


kmeep GOLD said...
on Feb. 25 2013 at 7:25 am
kmeep GOLD, Woodbury, New Jersey
17 articles 2 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you can't laugh at yourself, laugh at other people.
-Tim Hawkins

Did you know that the British Siri is a guy?