“Hey Siri, set up a meeting for tomorrow at 9.”
“OK, I set up your meeting.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. As Always.” This short exchange is just a small example of what Siri, Apple’s intelligent virtual assistant, can do. Along with scheduling a meeting Siri’s capabilities include, texting, calling, navigating, etc. One boy figured out that Siri’s capabilities include so much more. In an article titled “To Siri, with Love” the author, Judith Newman, shares her and her son’s experience with Siri. Newman’s son is 13 year old Gus. Gus has autism. For those on the autistic spectrum, social cues and other tasks can be difficult. Through sharing her personal experience with Siri and her son, this article has the potential to help others understand…show more content… First off, how can Siri be a friend? As mentioned earlier, Gus had a harder time picking up on social cues but Siri is perfect for this. This can often times is hard for people communicating with those who have autism because, “Humans are not patient,” but luckily “Machines are very, very patient.” Siri’s patient nature helps Gus as he tries to better understand social cues. Along with being a patient friend Siri’s responses are always, “predictably kind.” Things that Gus might not understand or pick up on aren’t targeted by Siri. Instead, Siri then uses these things to teach Gus. Provided in many examples, “To Siri, with Love” shows what Siri can teach: enunciation, politeness, etiquette, patience, better communication skills, etc. Part of Gus’s autism causes him to mumble, “if he wants to get the right response from Siri, he must enunciate clearly.” Siri’s inability to understand us at times isn’t a design flaw, in fact, it enables opportunity for teaching. She then might reply, “Sorry, I don’t understand,” which allows for Gus to practice his
