Opinion: The technologically advanced form of sarcasm

Seth Cohen

It’ll insult you too. That’s what I love, a little honest insult from a computer about your weight, or about how stupid you are, but users know that the insults are simply a humorous feature that adds a little light humor on the new technological features.

Whether you need to schedule an appointment with someone, or would like to ask to see what movies are good to see, Siri simply replies back with an “I will ask her right away for the schedule change, how does the 14th of October sound?” Or “This movie isn’t bad; it received an 85 percent from Rotten Tomatoes.”

I’m not an Apple user because with my paycheck, I can barely keep up with my bills as it is, but when I read and saw a video about this, I couldn’t help but think that if this type of app becomes a success, then more and more people will start communicating with a computer that talks back with an acute answer that sounds nothing like a computer should say.

On Oct. 6, Apple launched a video on YouTube introducing the Siri in a series of examples providing the variety that one may find useful to use.

Now, some of you may be thinking, “Wow, it’s going to be some kind of new stupid technological addiction,” and, I’m not going to lie, that may be the case. That thought crossed my mind too, but there was something specific that put a smile on my face.

At the end of the Siri video, it shows a blind woman reading Braille and her Siri says “New notification from Sandy Cheng: Are we still on for dinner tonight? Perhaps you should have a snack instead. You’re looking a little heavy.” The woman then says, without touching a button, that she will be there and the Siri repeats what she said to indicate if it heard her correctly with a little added insult “ … me and my extra 20 pounds.”

If it can help make life easier for anyone, I’m sold.