Siri's Abortion Clinic Ignorance Brings Protests
Siri can tell you the meaning of life (well, sort of) but it can't direct you to an abortion clinic. And advocacy groups are up in arms over what they see as Apple's pro-life stance.
Siri is the virtual assistant that comes pre-installed on Apple's iPhone 4S. The app has been making headlines since it debuted. It can help you find a restaurant, plan a night on the town and otherwise help you get things done via voice-controlled commands. But Siri reportedly either comes up empty when users ask it to find an abortion clinic or suggests pregnancy crisis centers in the area.
"Although it isn't clear that Apple is intentionally trying to promote an anti-choice agenda, it is distressing that Siri can point you to Viagra but not the Pill, or help you find an escort but not an abortion clinic," the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a blog post. The ACLU is asking supporters to contact Apple about providing accurate information.
A Publicity Stunt?
Apparently, Apple received enough feedback to address the issue. In a published statement, Apple spokesman Natalie Harrison spoke on behalf of Siri.
"Our customers want to use Siri to find out all types of information, and while it can find a lot, it doesn't always find what you want," she said. "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better and we will in the coming weeks."
Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, said the hubbub about Siri's lack of knowledge about abortion clinics is taking things too far. There are many topics for which "no sane person" would attempt to rely on Siri for information, he said, and there are many things Siri doesn't do yet that could make someone mad.
"Siri is a product labeled beta that integrates with a limited number of information sources and it isn't comprehensive. I am really struggling to understand what the complaint is. Is Apple suppressing this information? Hardly," Greengart said. "If anything, Apple's products tend to be on the more liberal side of the fence. If you go to iBooks I am sure there are certain books that aren't in the library, but that doesn't say anything about Apple's beliefs."
Best Questions for Siri
In other Siri news, a new Web site that offers a daily dose of Siri quips and tips just launched. The site plans to offer daily screenshots of Siri responses.
"Ever since the iPhone 4S burst on the scene in mid-October, Siri has attracted most attention for her often hilarious responses, but she also has serious capabilities," said Jodi Dery, developer of the Web site. "We feel that presenting Siri's responses in this concise daily format will help people remember the best questions to ask Siri and the best way to get good results."
