Android’s Iris, like Apple’s Siri, hates abortion

Death & Taxes ^ | 2/8/2012 | Andrew Belonsky

[knittnmom]

Remember when Apple’s voice recognition app Siri refused to give directions to abortion clinics? Well, Verizon’s Android application Iris has the same socially conservative politics.

As Right Wing Watch and ThinkProgress report, little Iris also refuses to guide users toward abortion providers. But Iris goes one step further. While Siri simply refuses to give the information, Iris quotes the Bible to make her point.

“Abortion is wrong. The Lord has said ‘You shall not murder,’ (Exodus 20:13). The life that is growing within the mother is a child, a baby. The Bible looks at the life in the womb as a child,” Iris replies when asked whether abortion is wrong, and then ends with a cheery “Thanks!”

Asked “What makes abortion wrong,” Iris replies: “It takes away the right to live, to be happy, to be healthy…” The list goes on.

Right wingers like Family Research Council are celebrating Iris’ abortion opposition, but the rest of us — you know, the less draconian people who believe in a woman’s right to choose — are left to wonder why 21st century technology is so stuck in the 18th century.

[BfloGuy]

I thought this controversy had pretty much been answered by the fact that abortion mills don't advertise themselves as "Abortion Mills" on Google, the phone book, or anywhere for that matter. They're pretty circumspect about what they do.

I'm sure Siri, et. al. could find you a "Family Planning" office without any trouble.

[sauropod]

I know exactly what you mean.

Several years ago, I went to tip a few with my wife and a former friend who could rightly be lumped in with the Paulistinians.

He called my support of the war effort at the time “Nazi-like” and the event ended with my wife yelling down the street at him.

Unfortunately, paultardism (anti-war “Congress has to declare war”) cost me a friendship that night.

[Ellendra]

Looks like an interesting sideline. I tried to sign up, but it seems they don’t take guides from Wisconsin? At least, they don’t have WI as an option on the W9. I sent a message asking what was up with that.