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10 Years On: How Much Can You Do With Siri?
Voice recognition is good, but it’s what Siri does with it that counts
Last year, back when we were allowed to do this, I went to a restaurant with a group of friends. I forget where. There were burgers on the table. Maybe served on a piece of wood or in a paper bag. They weren’t on plates anyway. It all feels like another world now. During the meal, as words and opinions and pieces of burger flew through the air, someone said something like “seriously” or “series” or maybe even Simon. There was a muffled ping from a wrist or pocket. “I’m sorry,” Siri said, “I didn’t quite catch that.”
“I have found two uses for Siri,” my friend Dan said, “setting a timer for cooking eggs and playing the music from Frozen.” Dan has a young child, which is why he needs to be playing music from Frozen at all times. “And I eat a lot of eggs,” he added.
From time to time over the last year, I’ve thought about Siri. Aside from eggs and Frozen, how much can you actually do with it?
After the meal, I decide to try using Siri more. Immediately I get a sense of what this will entail when I remember I need to send an email when I get home. Usually, I’d write a reminder for myself, but we’re in a Siri world now.
But there’s a problem. I’m in a tube station and there are other people around. Do I really want to talk to Siri in front of them? I’ll seem mad or pretentious. Maybe, even worse, it’ll seem like attention-seeking; speaking aloud in a public space. The tube is for silent contemplation of the adverts and floor. There are, literally, unspoken rules: you don’t talk to yourself, to strangers, or to your phone unless there’s a person on the other end. Could I pretend that I’m talking to a friend of mine who just happens to be called Siri?
I walk to the end of the platform, as far away from everyone as I can get, turn into the corner, and whisper. “Hey Siri, remind me to send an email when I get home.”
There’s a ping. Siri thinks for a few seconds. “Sorry,” it replies, “there’s no home address for Home. If you’d like to add one you can do so from the contacts app.”
At this point, I discover my contacts are a mess. I’ve always half-known this, but it’s…
