Apple reportedly tweaked Siri's responses to sensitive subjects like feminism, #MeToo
Developers who rewrote the Apple voice assistant's answers were advised to offer neutral responses about certain topics, according to The Guardian.
Apple's Siri voice assistant was apparently rewritten to avoid the word "feminism."
Siri is apparently in favor of "equality" but doesn't say the word "feminism," according to a new report. Apple suggested that developers working to rewrite its digital voice assistant's answers to queries should "deflect" questions about supposedly sensitive topics like women's rights, The Guardian reported Friday.
Leaked guidelines from June 2018 told developers to have Siri approach questions about subjects like feminism or the #MeToo movement by not engaging, but rather deflecting, informing and remaining neutral, according to the report. It noted that the guidelines were leaked by a contractor in an Apple program that checked the accuracy of Siri responses to real-life queries. That program recently ended after privacy concerns were raised about workers listening to Siri conversations.
Siri's previous responses to some questions were apparently more dismissive -- "I just don't get this whole gender thing" and "My name is Siri, and I was designed by Apple in California. That's all I'm prepared to say" -- according to The Guardian.
"Siri is a digital assistant designed to help users get things done. The team works hard to ensure Siri responses are relevant to all customers," an Apple spokesperson in an emailed statement. "Our approach is to be factual with inclusive responses rather than offer opinions."
In May, a United Nations report said that Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant having female voices by default is problematic because they reinforce the stereotype of women being "obliging, docile and eager-to-please helpers."
First published Sept. 6 at 5:44 a.m. PT.
Updated at 7:25 a.m. PT: Adds Apple statement.
