About 4 million folks have picked up a shiny new iPhone 4S since its release a couple of weeks ago, and most of them knew exactly what they were getting: It’s a phone, a calendar, a GPS, a mini-computer, a … well, you get the idea. Everyone knows what smartphones are capable of.
Still, some buyers might have been surprised to learn that their new iPhone was also a ready-made philosopher.
It’s true, after a fashion. The new iPhone comes with an electronic personal assistant named Siri. When you ask Siri to do something—check for the nearest Taco Bell, for instance, or set aside Thursday afternoon for a dentist appointment—Siri pleasantly tells you that the nearest chalupa is four blocks away, or gently reminds you that you have no teeth.
No, no. Siri has no way of knowing the status of your dental hygiene. But it will let you know if you have a calendar conflict, and whether you’d like to book the appointment anyway or pick another time.
So that’s all well and good, of course. But people occasionally mess with Siri, pushing the limits to see just what she—er, it—knows.
According to Fox News, users sometimes ask Siri to tell them the meaning of life. And Siri, believe it or not, has an answer. Sometimes she’ll say “42”—a riff on Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Other times, Siri says, “All evidence to date suggests it’s chocolate.”
Ask Siri “Why am I here?” and Siri might say, “I don’t know. Frankly, I’ve wondered that myself.”
But while Siri can come across as a bit dismissive, she’s not judgmental. Crazy as it sounds, at least one user reportedly asked Siri where the best place to hide a body would be. The electronic assistant posited that reservoirs, metal foundries and swamps would be perfect dumping grounds. (One can only assume that Dexter—the serial killer on Showtime’s infamous series—was one of the first in line to get one of these new iPhones.)
Inappropriate questions aside, I can see why Siri has already triggered such a following. A phone with a sense of humor? An electronic personal assistant that discusses the meaning of life? Siri’s so helpful and so conversant that there may be some iPhone users who spend more time talking with their phones than real people. Ironic, considering the amount of time most of us “talk” with our friends through texts and Facebook posts while staring at a computer screen.
It reminds me a little of Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together, in which the MIT researcher wonders whether some of us might get to a point where we prefer computerized interactions over sound of a real human voice or the feel of a real human touch. Computers, after all, are so much more reliable, so much more dependable than people are. And if they don’t respond exactly as we’d like, we can just tweak their programming.
Siri seems to understand these tricky issues—perhaps better than some of its owners. Tell Siri that you love her, and she’ll likely respond, “You hardly know me!” Ask her to marry you, and she might say, “My End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies.” And if you ask her a particularly troublesome theological or philosophical question, she’ll likely direct you to the nearest place of worship, insinuating that you’d be wise to inquire within.
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