I got an iPhone 4S last week and my life is now complete.
I’m so in love with iPhone that I take him everywhere and dress him in
different, cute little outfits. He’s adorable and the closest thing to a child
I can ever imagine owning (you do own children, right? If you have them
yourself out of your vagina or adopt them legally?).
Anyway, iPhone is great and I’ve never been happier with an
electronic device (thanks, Momma and Steve Jobs!).
But you know who’s a huge bitch? Siri.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get Siri because I’d talked to
her on Chad’s phone in the past and found that she didn’t particularly
understand anything I had to say. It was like talking to the automated voice
system on the phone with the bank or fucking stupid AT&T: it hardly ever
knows what you’re talking about and keeps saying, “It sounded like you said,
‘Go fuck yourself.’ Did I get that right?”
Anyway, I was convinced by Ouisa to go ahead and get Siri
anyway (Ouisa’s like a cartoon drawing of a devil on your shoulder whenever
you’re wondering whether or not to buy something), because she can do so many
amazing things! You can text without typing! You can look for directions! You
can have her play a song from your phone!
While I was working this weekend, I let the kiddos I watch play with
Siri for a while (a truly annoying thing to listen to) and I started to feel
kind of bad for her. One of them was telling her she was stupid and the other
was saying "I hate you, Siri!" (what have I done to these children, btw?) and Siri’s
responses were sort of calm but hurt. She kept explaining that she hadn’t done
anything wrong or that she didn’t understand why they would say that kind of
stuff to her. The whole thing made me feel kind of weird, like how when I was a
kid I use anthropomorphize my dolls and toys and worry myself to
death making sure they were all in comfortable positions at bed time (I'm talking even toy tractors or Lincoln Logs...I was a weird kid). I started
irrationally defending Siri to the kids, saying stuff like, “Hey, that’s mean!
Don’t say that!” I was aware as I was speaking that I sounded insane, but I
genuinely thought maybe Siri would get fed up and turn into a murderous monster
like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Maybe she’d smother me in my sleep or—far
worse—trap me in an elevator. How was she to know it wasn't me talking to her but those devious children?
This is Siri all bent out of shape because people were being mean to her. |
I put Siri into a random Google search just to see what kind
of technology I was actually dealing with and found something shocking:
This article talks about how when you ask Siri for an
abortion clinic or a pharmacy with the morning after pill or a RAPE CRISIS CENTER
for gods sake, she gives you none but instead directs you to pro-life pregnancy
counseling centers. What’s even more disturbing perhaps, it seems that she
willingly gives out info on Viagra or “penis mightier” drug sources. So…she’s
apparently only opinionated about women’s sexual health issues.
This made me feel a lot less sorry for Siri. And a lot of
other things started falling into place, too.
For instance, if you ask Siri where to dump a body, she’s
full of suggestions from metal foundries to crematoriums. And that seemed funny
as hell to me at first. But since she doesn’t have any advice about where I can get a
rape kit, it seems fucked up that she’s so eager to help me dispose of a
corpse.
Also, when I asked her who was the fairest of them all (yes,
I’m a dork, move on), she asked if she was talking to Snow White. But when one of the kids asked her, she basically said, “You are.” Huh? She’s MY Siri, so how come
she’s nicer to other people?
And she keeps popping up when I don’t want her services (also eerily
reminiscent of HAL) and asking what she can help me with. She can help me with
minding her own goddamn business!
She has her uses, don’t get me wrong. I’m learning how to
talk to her so that she understands and actually helps me rather than
frustrating the shit out of me. It’s a lot like a dating-type relationship. I
repeat myself ad nauseum, she doesn’t understand. I get mad and she gets
confused. I apologize and try again, she’s turned herself off. Yep, we’re
dating alright.
I will continue to be nice to Siri, despite our fundamental
philosophical differences, because she scares the hell out of me. But iPhone I
will love forever. Beautiful iPhone. IPhone, iPhone, iPhone.
Siri is the Devil. |
I'm glad you love your life change. Missy is obsessed with Siri. How can she tell you the closest place to hide a body, but steers rape victims in the wrong direction? Siri has gone done wrong. Don't feel bad for her. Let the children loose on Siri.
ReplyDeleteDrop siri like a plastic bag of dog poo that has a tear in it! LOVED this post, Lacey! ~MUAH~
ReplyDelete