Jenner gender bender doesn't faze Siri

17 July 2015 - 02:02 By ©The Daily Telegraph

Siri, Apple's virtual personal assistance, has taken on a new role - policing the gender line and automatically correcting questions about Bruce Jenner, the former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete and star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, by changing the name to Caitlyn. The question "What gender is Bruce Jenner?" provokes the answer "female".In April, the 65-year-old announced she had struggled with her gender identity since she was a boy. Jenner is currently the most high-profile American to identify as transgender.Although some might wonder whether the replacing of names might be a case of "political correcting", the new Siri feature has gone down a storm on social media, with users praising Apple as a force for progress in transgender rights. The Next Web notes it is not the result of a new Apple policy, but rather the result of Siri looking up information on online databases.So when Siri pulls an answer from Wolfram Alpha, it refers to Jenner as Caitlyn, but other questions sometimes still bring up results from older databases using the former name. ..

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