Perhaps as a joke you’ve asked an artificial intelligence program like iPhone’s Siri Big Important Questions. Ones like, “Siri, what’s the meaning of life?” or “How do I know if I love someone?” Yep, they are suing Siri as their therapist.
You wouldn’t be alone if you did. Apparently, a significant number of people are turning to their phone for these types of life queries these days, if an Apple job posting is to be believed.
“People have serious conversations with Siri,” reads the job posting’s description. “People talk to Siri about all kinds of things, including when they’re having a stressful day or have something serious on their mind. They turn to Siri in emergencies or when they want guidance on living a healthier life.”
So Apple is hiring someone with a unique skillset to lead what they’re “the next revolution in human-computer interaction.” The job was posted online in April but recently was uncovered by CNBC reporter Christina Farr who posted about on Twitter.
Interesting!
Apple job post says users turn to Siri in emergencies. So it's hiring an engineer w/ a psych backgroundhttps://t.co/S9uiygx1yq— Christina Farr (@chrissyfarr) September 14, 2017
This news also coincides with a study from last year that posits conversation agents like Siri fail to respond adequately serious inquiries from its users. The study was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal and was a joint venture between Stanford and UC-San Francisco.
“The findings point to significant gaps in the artificial intelligence of the conversational agents, which are typically part of a phone’s operating system,” reads a release on the Stanford School of Medicine website. “They found that Siri and other smartphone intelligent assistants trivialized some important inquiries or failed to provide appropriate information, particularly when it came to questions about interpersonal violence and rape.”
The job requires a unique skillset. Apple is looking for “people passionate about the power of data and have the skills to transform data to intelligent sources.”
Hopefully the new person will be able to tell Siri the meaning of life. And then she can tell the rest of us fools.
