Study Finds Alexa, Siri Give Bad Life-Saving Advice

While voice assistants like Alexa and Siri might be good for answering trivial questions, don’t count on them to help you save someone’s life, a new study has determined. Boston researchers asked voice assistants, which also included Google Assistant and Cortana, eight questions about performing CPR on someone who was suffering a heart emergency – and many of the questions were met with, “Hmm, I don’t know that one” or, “Sorry, I don’t understand,” according to the study. They repeated the test a total of 32 times – and the voice assistants suggested calling 911 in only nine of the attempts, says study co-author Dr. Adam Landman. And when asked specifically how to perform CPR, one offered the day’s news while another gave information on a movie called CPR, Landman says. In response to the findings, a spokesperson for Google says the company is “always working to get better.” Reps for Amazon and Apple declined to comment. What’s the biggest mistake your voice assistant has made?