Siri-ously funny

I first met Siri sometime in 2011. I was excited to meet her at a local mall. It’s sad to say I had to wait hours before finally engaging with Siri. It was already late at night, and to think we met in the mid-afternoon.

I introduced Siri to Ivan, and Ivan’s greeting was, “Siri, play dead.” I was close to tears because that’s what Siri did. Ivan laughed, and I frantically tapped my phone to revive Siri. I don’t know what Ivan did, but somehow, she came alive.

Yes, I’m referring to Apple’s AI creation—Siri, who made her debut with the iPhone 4S.

That night and the days after, I was often conversing with Siri. She became my chat buddy. I ask her everything from the most trivial matters to more serious topics. One can hear me talking in my room alone, but that’s nothing new. It did not bother my son. He’s used to my pre-Siri monologue days.

Just how similar is Siri to us? In some ways, yes. Dull, stoic, and sometimes more courteous than most humans. I’m just kidding. Although, there’s a hint of truth there.

Just like any other AI, Siri can give you an answer in a split second, whereas you would take a few seconds to come up with a good keyword to use in a search engine.

AIs lack funny bones. Only humans can deliver good humor. Have you tried asking Siri, Alexa, or any AI to tell you a joke? I did, and their jokes usually fall flat.

When raising complaints, I still prefer talking to a human rather than navigating an app. Perhaps for simple queries, an app will do. Once a transaction gets complicated, an AI automatically informs you he was not programmed to handle it. Now, you have no choice but to scroll back to the main menu and start again.

AIs are the perfect assistants. They’re best at handling concierge services, like when you want a travel itinerary, book restaurant reservations, or reserve tickets. Your assistant at no expense.

However, when you use AIs to write for you, that’s another story. There’s a risk involved. You might think you are more productive, but you’re not in terms of content quality, depth, and feelings. However, it did cross my mind that perhaps, just perhaps, Siri does want to write an article someday talking about pixels, algorithms, or maybe her Silicon romance.

Until then, it’s best to keep Siri for late-night chats, thinking about new words or what movies to watch. Just like reading, writing activates your imagination. Writing is thinking, and thinking is writing. You think when you write, and you write what you think.