SIRIously?

Is Siri all it’s cracked up to be? For some people, Siri is so close to artificial intelligence it could even be scary! I couldn’t imagine my grandfather talking to Siri, he would probably jump out of his skin! (He’s 94) Siri is the personal assistant that comes with the new iPhone 4S. You can ask Siri to remind you about appointments, play a specific song, tell you about the weather in your city or any city in the workl for that matter. It can call, email, or text friends, just by asking it to do it. Remember when we were impressed when phones could call a person in our address book by saying “Call Joe Smith”? Well, now Siri is taking things to a totally new and different level. We can use voice command to use many of the applications on the iPhone without even having to press a button. You can use it by talking directly into your phone. The only tool you need is your voice…and of course the iPhone 4S. It has quick access to the internet so anything you want to search pops up quickly on your phone screen. For example, you are in your car and you’re looking for a flower shop…you say, “Siri, find a flower shop nearby” and your screen will be populated with all the closest flower shops. If you like one you can ask Siri to give you directions to the shop and it will navigate you to your destination.

To see all the available features with Siri, click on the following link:

About Siri

I think one of the big advantages is that you can use while you drive without using your keypad. You can send a text to someone and dictate to your phone without having to type it. Siri reads it back to you before the message is sent. It can also read new texts you receive while you drive. This could be very helpful for teenagers who are driving and texting all the time and who “can’t wait” until the car is parked to check their messages.

Another benefit would be that visually impaired people can use Siri by using their voice. Although not all of the applications in an iPhone are compatible with Siri, most of the ones we use for convenience, such as appointment reminders, weather checks, and calling contacts are available to use with Siri.

My question is, is this phone really that impressive, does it really have human-like qualities, or is it just a glorified version of the old phone we had that could call Joe Smith by just saying his name? Is it just a matter of programming more voice commands into the phone and having alternate answers to ridiculous questions? My kids and their friends have tons of fun asking Siri all kinds of silly questions. I have to admit, some answers are pretty funny! Here are some of my favorites that I have heard them ask Siri:

-Siri, will you marry me? -My end user licensing agreement does not cover marriage, my apologies.

-Siri, I love you. -All you need is love and your iPhone.

Siri, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? -It depends on whether you’re talking about African or European wood.

See the picture below for some other funny ones I found online.

Picture taken from: http://gamergirltalk.com/2011/10/18/pointless-and-stupid-things-to-ask-siri-on-the-iphone-4s/

For a funny take on Siri watch a video by Ellen DeGeneres: