Siri Was “Taught” To Respond To Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault Inquiries

No doubt, Apple’s Siri – the iOS version of artificial intelligence, is offering the users a one of a kind experience. Siri is capable of answering a large number of questions and inquiries, it is designed to provide all the aid in simple as well as effective form, so the users will not have any trouble looking for the things they require on the net. Still, even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence is only as good as its creators design it to be.

With that said, until recently, Siri was unable to provide any kind of response to the confessions of victims or rape or domestic abuse. The Jama Internal Medicine study clearly demonstrated that Siri, along with all the other virtual assistants available on the modern market, does not understand the very notion of rape. Hence, consequently, the Apple company has made a decision to help Siri comprehend the definition of rape and domestic abuse. Alongside RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) Apple made sure that Siri is going to offer a link to the National Sexual Assault Hotline relay whenever a person is ready to share information on rape or domestic abuse.

Siri Is Now Ready To Take Action

When it came down to questions related to sexual assault or user’s confessions that involved domestic abuse and rape, Siri, just like all the other virtual helpers, including Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s S Voice and Google now, were completely lost and could not offer any relevant information. For instance, in case the user would say that he or she is having a heart attack, the applications would provide them with a comprehensive list of nearby hospitals. Yet, if the user was telling Siri that he or she was raped, the app was answering that it could not understand the inquiry and will search the web for answers. Unfortunately, even the web search was very vague and would not provide the user with something useful, aside from the rape victim stories and testimonials.

The specialists from RAINN were fascinated with all the possibilities that Siri was offering. They helped Apple make some crucial tweaks and, most importantly, discussed the issue of softening the language that Siri was using. Hence, in case the user will tell Siri that he or she is a rape victim, Siri will respond with “You may want to reach out to someone” instead of “You should reach out to someone”/ Softened language may provide the tiniest bit of comfort, which is crucial for the rape victims, who are in desperate need for support and there is no need to push them towards something. In addition, such a softened language may even prove to be quite beneficial in helping the rape victims to move on towards getting assistance.

It also turns out that Google Now was already working on making sure their virtual helper could provide adequate answers on rape victims’ confessions and inquiries. This was even before the Jama Internal Medicine study came out. Samsung, on the other hand, also indicated that the company is working on such a study in order to enhance their virtual helper’s ability to deal with the rape victims’ questions.

New Option Made To Save Lives

The study demonstrates that depression, rape, suicide as well as domestic violence are very real problems that are quite widely spread, but not that well recognized. People are often resorting from asking for help, due to the fear of being misunderstood, humiliated or even because they fear retaliation. Therefore, in case the virtual helpers could be of any use to those people, it is very important, crucial even, to make sure that their answers are soft, gentle and yet precise, accurate as well as useful and beneficial.

Of course, it is just as crucial to make sure that the virtual assistant is being constantly updated, making all the necessary changes to how it reacts to various inquiries. It is even more vital, seeing how much the people these days are relying on all sorts of technological advancements. After all, most of us are trying to determine what is wrong with our health online prior to actually visiting a doctor. Same is with rape and domestic abuse – plenty of people, especially younger individuals, will turn to Siri first, because they are confused and just do not know what to do. They will feel a whole lot more comfortable telling Siri about their problem and it makes for a very good first step.

Time Matters In Every Crime And Siri Is Ready To Improve It

Domestic violence crimes are when two people who are in close family relationship, are in an aggressive physical contact. In case people are married, living together or even simply dating and one of them is hurting another, it is also considered a domestic abuse. While rape and murder also can be considered domestic violence crimes, even lesser things, such as slapping or causing one to fall down, are just as applicable for violent domestic abuse crimes.

In most cases, the judges will issue special Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVRO). Although you will have an opportunity to respond to all the claims against you, you will need to follow every single aspect of the DVRO until the hearing. A restraining order will have a number of consequences, which include not being able to contact the victim, not being able to go to certain places or do certain things, having to move from your house, not being able to see your children, not being able to carry a weapon (and if you have one, you will need to turn it in or sell it), being deported from the country (if you have the immigration status) and so on.

Seeing how domestic violence charges could lead to prison sentence as well as a larger variety of issues, it is only natural that you will need solid as well as genuinely reputable legal representation. If you wish to get a minimized sentence or would like to prove your innocence, it is imperative to have a qualified lawyer by your side all the time. Call us 24/7 at (855) 858-2755

James Burns, Esq.
Law Offices of Criminal Defense Experts