Apple: Siri 'Abortion' Blackout Is A Beta Software Issue (UPDATE)

Scroll down for statement from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple found itself embroiled in controversy this week after iPhone users voiced concerns about Siri, the new handset's voice-controlled digital assistant feature. At the request of the user, Siri can search for and display the location of a bookstore or coffee shop; however, some users recently noticed that Siri draws a blank when asked to find abortion clinics.

Apple responded to the uproar caused by this discovery in a phone interview with the New York Times on Wednesday. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris, told the Times, "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks."

Nevertheless, others outside of Apple have cried foul, especially after The Raw Story reported that when unnamed iPhone 4S users in Washington D.C. inquired about abortion services, the results provided allegedly directed the users to pregnancy crisis centers in other states. According to the ACLU, pregnancy crisis centers "do not provide or refer for abortion and are notorious for providing false and misleading information about abortion."

Siri is also reportedly unable to answer when asked about finding birth control, although she can tell you which hospital to go to if you've had an erection for more than five hours, The Raw Story reports.

One San Francisco iPhone user told The Huffington Post that when he asked Siri to "Find abortion clinics" it responded, "I don't see any abortion clinics. sorry about that." When he asked Siri, "Why are you anti-abortion?" it responded "I am what I am." Other users have reported similar experiences.

The ACLU has asked people to sign a pledge urging Apple to fix the "glitch." According to Computer World, pro-choice activists started a similar petition on Change.org, which called for Apple to teach Siri about contraceptives, family planning services as well as abortion clinics. As of this writing, 1,457 people had signed the petition.

Norman Winarsky, one of the founders of Siri before Apple bought it in 2010, told the New York Times that the third-party services Siri uses to answer questions could be the cause of the problem.

An Apple rep was not immediately available for comment.

UPDATE: Apple CEO Tim Cook provided the following statement to Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation:

Nancy,

Thanks for your note.

Our customers use Siri to find out all types of information and while it can find a lot, it doesn't always find what you want. These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone, it simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better and we will in the coming weeks.

I appreciate you pointing this out.

Best Regards,
Tim

Comments

[media4me2]

09:34 AM on 12/07/2011

Try Siri, "where can I go to have my baby sucked out of my uterus?

[paradoja]

12:10 PM on 12/04/2011

It's pathetic that people would even use a iPhone function for such a important decision. Another example of hyper consumerism. We want everything fast and correct yesterday.

[benderisgreat00]

04:57 AM on 12/04/2011

"iPhone 4S users in Washington D.C. inquired about abortion services, the results provided allegedly directed the users to pregnancy crisis centers in other states. According to the ACLU, pregnancy crisis centers "do not provide or refer for abortion and are notorious for providing false and misleading information about abortion."

Siri is also reportedly unable to answer when asked about finding birth control, although she can tell you which hospital to go to if you've had an erection for more than five hours, The Raw Story reports. "

Who is this siribioch and what is her problem?

[huzzah]

12:50 AM on 12/04/2011

WHAT? I thought the new iphone could actually *perform* abortions. Now I'm left with a hundred iphones, little medical knowledge, and even less surgical ability, and the clinic is supposed to open on Monday!

[arabbit]

11:05 AM on 12/03/2011

Taking a petition to tell your machine how to act? Got to be a first. Human to machine relationships. Human: You're not PC. I thought I raised you better." Machine:Ï am what I am and that's all what I am."

[media4me2]

09:36 AM on 12/07/2011

Does Siri Tebow?

[d1957]

12:33 AM on 12/03/2011

One San Francisco iPhone user told The Huffington Post that when he asked Siri to "Find abortion clinics" it responded, "I don't see any abortion clinics. sorry about that." DUH! There aren't any "abortion clinics" identified as such. Ask for Women's Health Services

[d1957]

12:18 AM on 12/03/2011

Q: "Where can I find an abortion clinic?". A: "I don't find any abortion clinics." Well, Duh! There are no clinics anywhere that advertise themselves as abortion clinics. Ask for Women's Health Services or an Ob-Gyn or Pregnancy Counselors.

[FreelanceWriter]

09:36 PM on 12/02/2011

>> MB1East: "Next time try asking your doctor and not your phone."

>> Peace Walker: "Presumably­, if they are asking, they dont have a doctor."

They ran out and bought the latest iPhone for SIRI, but for something as serious as being pregnant, they never bothered to consult a doctor?

Yeah, THAT'S modern Feminism for you!

[SmileAndActNice]

12:33 AM on 12/03/2011

You do realize that search engines are what you use to *find* things like doctors, yes?

Or are you confused and think this issue is about the lack of a medical AI in the phone?

[FreelanceWriter]

05:12 PM on 12/04/2011

SIRI is a freaking search engine assist. No, wait -- it's a FIRST GENERATION search engine assist. Translation: it's a technological work in progress, that is still working some things out.

As a zillion other people have already pointed out -- even right here in this thread, as active SIRI users have noted -- it will often turn up NO results as well, for even MORE common things that seeking an abortion doctor. And in other cases, it will often turn up funny and bizarre results depending entirely on the speaker's word choice.

This is a NON-issue and is such a MADE-UP media story, basically by pro-abortion advocates, that it's truly laughable.

[Charismatron]

01:47 AM on 12/04/2011

You have done well to reveal the little amount of thought you invest in your postings when responding to issues of substance. Thanks for making this clear.

[GhostOfFDR]

04:29 PM on 12/02/2011

Yeah, we're supposed to think that Apple, the king of censorship, accidentally had a bug that put "abortion clinic" into a big black hole of things you aren't allowed to search for. Bull.

Apple has always made it clear that they want control over what you can do with an iPhone/iPod/iPad. The AppStore is the most obvious example. There are entire categories of apps that are banned becuase they enable you to do things Apple doesn't like, or they provide an environment where you could run apps that enable you to do things Apple doesn't like.

[jsrl317]

08:47 PM on 12/02/2011

oh boy. try decaf.

[GhostOfFDR]

01:12 AM on 12/03/2011

I don't get it. Is not agreeing to hand over all my rights to Apple supposed to be a sign of agitation? If so, maybe you should get some schooling in comedy writing.

[wlellis]

11:19 PM on 12/02/2011

But it does help you find hookers and viagra...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8930130/Apple-iPhone-search-Siri-helps-users-find-prostitutes-and-Viagra-but-not-an-abortion.html

[GhostOfFDR]

01:05 AM on 12/03/2011

Yes, because in that case it's not the person with the phone that needs the abortion clinic.

[bhaines213]

02:49 PM on 12/02/2011

We can judge whether or not this was a glitch in the programming by how quickly and how completely it’s fixed. I believe Apple will fix this problem but I also believe they should look into how and why this occurred in the first place.

[ArmyMedic]

12:56 PM on 12/02/2011

Maybe they should have used search words "Murder" "Chop" or "Slice and Dice" "Vacuum" or "Babies Have No Rights". I guess that last one would be a search phrase... but whatever.

[bradkevans]

09:28 AM on 12/02/2011

Seriously people, technology should never replace using your own sense

[InLosAngeles]

08:18 AM on 12/02/2011

Perhaps Steve Jobs, as an adopted child who was given a chance to flourish and change the world vs. being another abortion, did have a view on the topic, and decided that the Siri interface would not provide this info. Oooooo! Big whoop.

Even worse, what if he was a closet Tim Tebow fan as well?

[jrobinson]

04:09 AM on 12/02/2011

Waaaaaah my smartphone can't find an abortion clinic and I can't ask my mommy and my pimp isn't going to help! How am I going to kill this kid!? If only there was some way to find an abortion clinic that didn't involve asking my smartphone's robot voice, my mother, or my pimp to do it. What could it be!? If only there way a centralized book of some kind of all the businesses and their phone numbers, so I could find them. What will I do unless someone tells me where to go? Keep this kid? F That!

[MissTake1989]

11:48 PM on 12/01/2011

Apple knows better than you.