When it was discovered that the new voice assistant on the iPhone 4S, Siri, didn't identify nearby abortion clinics when asked, it created a firestorm of controversy. After the story circulated widely (with even the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation chiming in on the issue), Apple spoke out, saying that the omission was completely unintentional and that it would be amended in a future update. It's far from the first time technology has displayed inadvertent insensitivity to social issues or politics. Gadgets, software, and equipment are only as perfect as the humans who made them, after all, and if history is any indication, that's pretty imperfect.
[More from Mashable: Siri Hack Opens Your Car Door and Starts the Engine [VIDEO]]
From webcams that don't recognize people with a certain skin tone to video technologies that make certain people sick, technology sometimes stumbles upon politically incorrect landmines in its at-times clumsy march toward the uncharted future. Engineers can't predict every possible use of a piece of software or hardware, and sometimes feelings are hurt in what they exclude, typically not by design.
Siri accidentally wading into the abortion debate is just the latest chapter in this saga. It won't be the last.
[More from Mashable: Future of WebOS: HP Decision Expected in Two Weeks]
Do you know of a case of technology inadvertently behaving badly that we missed? Let us know in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
cl p andy rooney andy rooney groupon ipo groupon ipo breeders cup 2011 gwar
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.