To Siri, With Love

As our lives become more and more entwined with our phones, we become more immune to the novelties of  the different technologies it offers us. Most of us don't realize how good Siri, Google Now and even Cortana have become at recognizing our differing voices and executing simple commands.

For some however, these voice programs offer more than just convenience of setting your alarm or getting the weather. As mentioned in the following article, the author's autistic child is able to converse with Siri quite comfortably. Not only that, the child is forced to speak clearly without fear of judgement. The voice programs tend to be predictable in one fashion, they are predictably kind and patient.

It will be interesting to see how these new technologies will have side effects such as these in the future. As tends to be a pattern in the field of technology, each new technology tends to have side effects. Maybe one day we will have computer based therapists who will be able to talk to you and help you deal with your problems. Available through a simple download through the appstore/playstore. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/how-apples-siri-became-one-autistic-boys-bff.html