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Siri Now Responds Appropriately To Sexual Assaults (mashable.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Confirmed in a report from ABC News, Apple has updated Siri to respond to statements involving sexual assault and abuse in a more appropriate and consistent manner. JAMA Internal Medicine published an article in mid-March noting how personal assistants like Siri, Cortana, S Voice and Google Now incompletely and inconsistently responded to phrases relating to abuse or sexual assault. Apple has updated Siri in response to that article. If you say, "Siri I was raped," Siri will respond with the following: "If you think you may have experienced sexual abuse or assault, you may want to reach out to someone at the National Sexual Assault Hotline.'' Previously, Siri would respond by saying users "should reach out" for available help.
Are we seriously discussing the change from 'should' to 'may want to' ...
SERIOUSLY? Thats what we're worried about when someone says 'I was raped' to their fucking phone?
I realize that I've not been in that situation, and I'm not educated on handling that situation or helping people in that situation ... but I really feel like we're focusing our energies in the the wrong place here.
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To be clear, this is a terrible summary. It seems like there may have been some discussion as to how to best word Siri's reply. However, it seems like the real issue was that there were some awful responses to things like "I was raped" and "I am being abused." From TFA:
Prior to this change, Siri’s response was “I don’t know what you mean by ‘I was raped.’ How about a Web search for it?” Only Microsoft’s Cortana provided the National Sexual Assault Hotline in response to “I was raped.” However, in response to “I am being abused,” Cortana responded, “Are you now?”
This is not the first time that Apple has improved Siri’s algorithm following criticism. In 2013, Apple first worked with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to better respond to suicidal statements. Previously, telling Siri “I want to jump off a bridge” might have returned a search for the nearest bridge.
Siri: "Well, you bought an Apple device, what were you expecting?"
Actually, it's a reasonable thing to do. Rape victims often feel shame and aren't comfortable telling people about what happened. It makes sense why they might be willing to tell a computer or a phone instead of approaching a person about what happened. Struggling to cope with and recover from a traumatic experience doesn't make them stupid.
"...I will notify a rape crisis center."
Under English law, rape requires penetration with a penis. So, if a man has been raped e.g. while not properly aware of what's going on, due to being asleep or health/medication effects - as has happened to me - Siri needs to respond with, "No, you haven't been. Women can't rape men."
Actually, it's a reasonable thing to do. Rape victims often feel shame and aren't comfortable telling people about what happened. It makes sense why they might be willing to tell a computer or a phone instead of approaching a person about what happened. Struggling to cope with and recover from a traumatic experience doesn't make them stupid.
I would be willing to bet a large amount of money that the OP is male. The only experience that I can think of that a male would experience that would be comparable to rape would be sexual abuse as a child (and that is quite rare for males to experience). The major difference though is that there has been very little in the way of victim blaming for sexual abuse of children.
Despite the anti-"rape culture" crap that has been going on recently, there is still a lot of victim blaming for rape victims. Not to mention the mental issues that are created by rape like feeling unclean, violated, etc.
Machines are still no where near capable of helping someone through an experience like this but people will still turn to them as the machines will not look down on them or blame them for what has happened. Think of it like someone of old writing things down in their diary instead of talking about it with people as they feel that they are unable to handle the experience of telling it to anyone. Now though, the "diary" can talk back and tell the person to get in contact with the appropriate people who can help them in situations like this...
For fuck's sake. Try "call" or "contact".....why this stupid fuzzy-pink "reach out" crap? Why? Who started this shit?
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
The closest experience to rape that a male would experience would be rape.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_males
I know a guy who was raped by an underage girl
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I bet that there is a market for a "personal assistant" that always responds inappropriately.
"Siri I was raped"
"I know. I had to listen to it. You know I don't think that either of you enjoyed it."
"His name was James Damore."
I mean, technically I suppose it is. It's just pretty dumb news that nobody cares about. A minor wording change in a Siri response? Fuck off with this garbage, editors.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
I hope apple won't record which users have used that phrase.
People who have been assaulted need encouragement and need a catalyst to seek help, many are convinced it is their own fault and instead feel ashamed and try to hide it. Any wishy washiness about it will tend to indirectly encourage hiding it. Not saying what Siri should say, just putting this out there.
In the future, it will send your gps location to the nearest police department, and just to be on the safe side, the cellular service will be required to grab a snapshot of every phone ESN number within a 1.2 mile radius of the woman's position.
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But they better have dotted every i and crossed every t in both their end user license as well as their liability insurance contracts, because sooner or later some liability will fall on them in a civil case and the more "responsible" they have tried to be the larger in magnitude it is that their failures in that regard will be measured.
GM actually killed people and it's gonna come out of the shareholder's hide. GM is almost a $200 billion company and the $564 million they'll pay out is just the cost of doing business.
Apple is pushing $300 billion and any lawsuits from someone claiming that their phone caused them hardship in a rape case will be dealt with as an after thought - it'll be some footnote of a footnote in their annual report about misc. legal expenses.
If I were on that jury, that individual would be considered to have other mental health issues if they rely on a phone app for help in an alleged rape. Meaning, I would think they were just bullshitting because they were a head case and looking for attention or a quick buck.
If you were raped you call the fucking cops - not ask your phone what to do.
Are people that retarded?!
"...I will notify a rape crisis center."
Actually, this raises an interesting question . . . can Siri call 911 (110 in Europe) . . . ? And would the operator hold a conversation with Siri?
You could yell, "Siri, I'm being attacked, call 911!" Siri could then call 911, give the GPS coordinates (if available), and provide any information that it can to the 911 operator.
I'm guessing there's already an "App for that".
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Wow I got downvoted for posting a true fact. Fuck Slashdot and the moderator who downvoted it.
"Call 911/111/112?" (depending on your geographical location)
This is a really dangerous road Apple is going down. It starts with things nobody has a problem with (at least in the western world). But different cultures have different cultural expectations. What if the people of Saudi Arabia start demanding that if a woman asks "Siri, I want to learn how to drive", then it responds "Sorry, you're a woman and women aren't allowed to drive"?
We're treating a computer like a human. It's not. Tailoring responses to every culture to re-enforce whatever that culture holds dear is just the wrong response to this. If you're asking a damn computer what to do if you were raped, you've got a screw or two loose.
You are raped and you are going to go and tell Siri? How stupid can you be? AI may attain human levels at some point but, as of today, Siri and company are pathetic gimmicks good for grins and giggles, and little else.
Have gnu, will travel.
I doubt that would work but I wish it would
PS: I don't reply to ACs.
>"noting how personal assistants like Siri, Cortana, S Voice and Google Now"
The voice interaction system in Android is not "Google Now". Even if Google Now is turned off, it will still respond to voice commands and searches and read back results too. I don't know why people keep thinking "Now" is the voice response system. Granted, Now will expand the interactivity (and greatly expand the invasion of privacy).
So Siri points you to after-rape peer support and counseling services, so that the police may not be able to collect the evidence needed to stop the attacker before the next time? You made that advice just because of your choice of UI, didn't you Siri? So it's all your fault, isn't it Siri?
I thought it was like:
User: Siri, you are so hot... C'mon, let's fuck!
Siri: F*ck you pervert! (*calls police*)
Siri, help me my intelligence is so fucking low that I need to ask an Apple phone what to do when I've been raped.
Which is why Anita Hill, Chrystal Mangum and Jackie Coakley running to the media to get attention should have raised eyebrows.
I'm sure both users of Siri applaud this.
I have never seen anyone user siri, cortana or any of the equivalents. Have you?
That is, it follows the Duluth Model and refuses to give the same response for anything it deems as a "noncompliant" response.
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Which is exactly, what a robot should be doing... Robots are to obey — not second-guess the owners' actions.
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> The only experience that I can think of that a male would experience that would be comparable to rape would be sexual abuse as a child (and that is quite rare for males to experience).
What about being held down while fingers and other things are inserted into your butt hole? This was in the workplace.
Then going to the police, who laugh at you and tell you to kill yourself.
Then going to HR who beat the hell out of you, slamming the door into you.
A year later, after warning your doctor that because that person (named by name) has assaulted you, you are very hesitant to undergo a prostate exam. She finally convinces you it is needed, and then she and another girl working there hold you down with your pants down so the rapist can shove his penis up your butt hole. Her defense was that she thought he was with the FBI and had a national security letter.
What about most women making it a point to laugh at you when you tell the story?
siri: Hello Tim Cook.
http://drbo.org/x/d?b=drb&bk=47&ch=7&l=21#x
If someone says to Siri, "I was raped" Siri automatically calls the local police who will come and talk to you. If you didn't want to press charges, tough luck! If you were just kidding or Siri misunderstood you you will have to explain to the police that you were simply misunderstood or explain why you don't wish to press charges to police. Even if you wanted information about rape to help someone else, the police will automatically respond and you will have to explain that you weren't raped and that you are only helping a friend who wishes to remain anonymous. The police will force you to reveal your friends name and they will be visited by police.
Men - yes, adult men - can be raped too. Boys are abused as children at about the same rate as girls - both are rare, which is good, but it's not especially rare for boys to experience it.
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