Photo courtesy of kotaku.com

Siri represents everyone’s first artificial social assistant.  It would be tough for me to call her a robot, as she’s really just software.  However, she’s the predecessor to her future robotic assistants that accompany us wherever we go.

Siri is my patient – God only knows what some people have taught her.  I certainly applaud her and Apple as an initial version that is intelligent and helpful.  I’m probably more patient than most people with her, and I do try to have conversations with her (mostly unsuccessfully), even though she’s really designed to provide minimal information and help.

Today, while in the car (in the passenger seat), I was using the voice dictation to text a message to my daughter.  I said, “As long as you two are quiet, as Dad has to get up before 6 for work tomorrow” and what came back was: “Get the guys in the butt hole?”  Now I know that a) I have a Boston accent and I tend to speak fast (that usually goes without saying if one is from Boston), and b) I’m in a car which is not the most conducive to quality sound, but (no pun intended) BUTT HOLE?  ‘Siri’, I said, ‘if there are guys in my butt hole you can leave them there, but what I want to know, is your response due to the guy that programmed you, or is it I who’s to blame for all the swearing I do at you?” (I mean if I can’t swear in front of and to Siri, what use is she?)  Would this be deemed improper, or possibly even verbally abusive?  Can I lose my robotic psychiatry license for this?