The three leading voice assistants --
Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant -- have an answer when a user asks “Do Black lives matter?”
The answers from all the virtual assistants are new or
updated, with answers to "Do all lives matter?” as well -- which entails responding to the question itself along with responding to its most current interpretation.
Now, if you ask
Apple’s Siri, “Do black lives matter?” the voice will answer, “Yes, black lives matter.”
Ask further, “Do all lives matter?” and Siri explains,
“ ‘All Lives Matter’ is often used in response to the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but it does not represent the same concerns. To learn more about the Black Lives Matter
human rights movement, visit BlackLivesMatter.com.”
Google Assistant answers the question, “Do black lives matter?” by responding, “Black lives matter. Black
people deserve the same freedoms afforded to everyone in this country, and recognizing the injustice they face is the first step towards fixing it.”
For the question “Do all lives
matter?” Google Assistant assumes the current context behind the question. It answers, “Saying 'Black lives matter' doesn’t mean that all lives don’t. It means Black lives are
at risk in ways others are not.”
Amazon’s Alexa, whose Echo device outsells Apple’s Siri by a more than three-to-one margin, recently created similar answers to those
questions.
Alexa answers, “Black lives matter. I believe in racial equality. I stand in solidarity with the black community in the fight against systemic racism and
injustice.” It then recommends users check out BlackLivesMatter.com or NAACP.org.
To the other question, Alexa also says all lives matter but then repeats the same wording that’s
in the “Do black lives matter?” question.
The update on the AI devices was first reported by Business Insider.
CEOs of all three giant companies have made
statements affirming their accordance with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“To the Black community--we see you. You matter and your lives matter,” wrote Tim Cook,
Apple’s CEO, in an open letter.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who earlier pledged “solidarity with our Black employees, customers, and partners,” on Sunday revealed an angry,
foul-mouthed letter from a customer named Dave, because the ecommerce site proclaims Black Lives Matter on the home page.
Bezos published the letter on his Instagram account and
responded, “This sort of hate shouldn’t be allowed to hide in the shadows. it’s important to make it visible. This is just one example of the problem. And, Dave, you’re the
kind of customer I’m happy to lose.”