Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Woman Uses 'Hey Siri' To Call An Ambulance and Help Save Her Child's Life (networkworld.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the always-listening dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Networkworld: When Apple released the iPhone 6s, it included a great new Siri feature which enables users to activate the intelligent assistant via voice. Dubbed 'Hey Siri,' the feature is particularly convenient because the iPhone 6s' M9 motion co-processor is 'always listening' and thereby lets users use 'Hey Siri' even when the device isn't connected to a power source. Recently, Stacey Gleeson of Australia used the 'Hey Siri' feature to successfully call an ambulance while she was tending to her daughter Giana who had stopped breathing. "I picked her up and sat down with her on the floor," Gleeson said in an interview. "And as I checked her airways, I looked over and remembered my phone." Thinking quick on her feet, Gleeson said, "Hey Siri, call the ambulance." Fortunately, Gleeson managed to resuscitate her daughter while the ambulance was in route. And while it's impossible to know for sure, it's entirely possible that the time Gleeson saved by not having to call an ambulance manually helped save her daughter's life. "Saving me the trouble of having to physically dial emergency services was a godsend," Gleeson said.

5 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah - not at all an advert. by queazocotal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "the feature is particularly convenient because the iPhone 6s' M9 motion co-processor is 'always listening' and thereby lets users use 'Hey Siri' even when the device isn't connected to a power source."

    1. Re: Yeah - not at all an advert. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "WHOOSH". Damn, you fucking idiot, you missed the obvious fact this guy was simulating what text-to-speech comes up with most of the time. You read three words and wanted to show off how smart you are when you have really demonstrated what an absolute fucktard you are.

  2. NSA funded story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is supposed to make us love how its always recording our conversations

  3. Turn on your microphones so we can listen or... by internet-redstar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Turn on your microphones (which could potentially be used for mass surveillance) or let your children die... Is this an advertisement by Apple or the NSA?

  4. Re:How long until the total surveillance state ... by joh · · Score: 2, Insightful

    None of these always-on systems track every word you say, because this would run your battery dry in no time. They all have just a low-power minimal voice-recognition in hardware that only recognizes the keywords and only then wake up and hand over control to the SoC itself for what you're actually saying.

    Besides, if Big Brother wants to listen to your microphone he can just do that anyway, no need for such tricks. If you don't trust your networked microphone containing device not to listen to you, don't carry it to begin with. This is true for every fucking phone or tablet or computer.