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In Spike Jonze’s latest film, Her, a mustachioed Joaquin Phoenix plays a man who falls in love with a Siri-like “digital assistant,” Her, played by Scarlett Johansson.
You’d think Siri would appreciate having a movie made about her, but instead, kitty’s got claws when it comes to her filmic counterpart: thanks to Apple’s cheeky and surprisingly timely programmers, if you ask Siri “Are you her?” she will respond: “No. Her portrayal of an intelligent agent is beyond artificial”, “No. You know that it’s just a movie, right?” and “No. In my opinion, she gives artifical intelligence a bad name.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Siri is so insecure. In an interview with the Merc’s Patrick May last year, Palo Alto psychologist Francine Toder analyzed Siri — or at least Siri’s responses — finding her lonely and unable to address her own needs. “I would say she’s emotionally lacking. And if she were a real person, I’d guess that it would take a long time to gain her trust to the point where she’d start to open up,” Toder said.
Perhaps Siri will develop more esteem with time and reassurance. And an upgrade or two.
In the meantime, don’t worry about it, Siri. I only have iOS for you.
Agencies
