Looks like Apple is trying to sass ol’ Siri up.
9to5Mac spotted a job listing on Apple’s site, since removed, seeking a creative writer to help evolve Siri as a “distinct, recognizable” character. The writer will develop original dialogue to support new capabilities for the voice activated personal assistant and occasional worrying accomplice.
The iOS 6 update padded Siri out a little bit but it looks like Apple wants more.
Apple said Siri was known for her wit, cultural knowledge and “zeal” to explain things in “engaging, funny and practical ways” with the ideal candidate being someone who combined a love for language, wordplay and conversation with experience in bringing creative content to life in a technical environment, 9to5Mac reported.
So it looks like Apple will be boosting the number of Easter Eggs Siri has in her repertoire (although I notice it doesn’t ask for a sci fi expert, which clearly it should) as well as expanding the set phrases Siri has to further engage iPhone lovers. As long as that love stays at a fondness-for-technology level and not a I-want-to-marry-my-avatar level, sounds like Siri could be a lot of fun.
There are a number of developer and software engineer jobs on Apple’s site related to improving the Siri experience through “speech-related research and development”, which sounds like Apple is looking to make Siri more useful as well as able to tell you the one about the iPhone, the Galaxy and the Lumia walking into the bar.
In honour of Siri’s proposed personality upgrade and in the hopes of more, here are some Siri Easter Eggs for you:
From Cult of Mac, when asked what 2001: A Space Odyssey is about, Siri replies “It’s about an assistant named HAL who tries to make contact with a higher intelligence. These two guys get in the way and mess it all up.” And for a Blade Runner synopsis:
But in response to, Would you like to play Tic Tac Toe?, the sadface response:
