Why doesn't Apple's Siri do what I want?

Do you sometimes ask yourself that? As an Apple user, sure. How does it work? They turn to a previously unknown being, others might say a tool. A tool that talks. A tool that asks you how it can help you. And the most ingenious thing about it: The tool, or the being, answers. Mostly. And usually also to the exact question asked. Yes, I mean Siri, Apple's voice assistant.

Well, I think Siri is borderline genius. Siri as a great companion in professional and other everyday life. Siri dials numbers while we have our hands full with other things, googles like crazy for what we think we need to know immediately and can also be used as a virtual secretariat and dictation aid.

Wenn wir Siri richtig verwenden und ihm (oder ihr??) Zeit geben, sich an uns zu gewöhnen. Oder besser gesagt, an unsere Stimme. Denn das ist nicht immer ein Selbstläufer. Vor kurzem fragte mich eine Bekannte, ich nenne sie hier Karin, um Rat. Siri würde sie ignorieren bzw. nie das tun, was sie gerade in Auftrag geben wolle. Siri auf dem I-Phone von Karin wählte prinzipiell die falsche Nummer oder gab gleich schnippisch bekannt, dass der Kontakt – obwohl gespeichert – gar nicht existieren würde. Ich finde alles, was mit Stimme zu tun hat, naturgemäß interessant und widmete mich diesem Problem mit Freude.

I advised Karin to articulate clearly towards her recalcitrant Siri. And above all, patience. Karin had the tendency to give up immediately annoyed when Siri didn't deliver what she wanted immediately. Apple's miracle machine could never get used to Karin's voice and its very special sound and rhythm. And when Karin made another half-hearted attempt after a few weeks and Siri didn't follow the commands, everything started all over again.

Since I know how voice works and how Siri is designed, I was able to help. I recommended that Karin speak her wishes and orders more slowly and with overly clear articulation. At first, Karin felt a bit uncomfortable talking to her smartphone like a four-year-old, but after her first successes, she was gripped by ambition.

Today, Karin and Siri are best friends, get along splendidly and together they always overcome new vocal and content-related hurdles. I'm immensely happy about that. I've always known it, but it's very satisfying to see it proven once again. Voice has power. Voice works. Everywhere.