MIT Technology Review has dug up a job ad posted by Apple on LinkedIn appealing to writers to help make Siri more conversational.
“[S]omeone who combines a love for language, wordplay, and conversation with demonstrated experience in bringing creative content to life within an intense technical environment.”
The ad notes that writers who apply will also need „experience in writing character-driven dialog“, a good vocabulary and, ideally, knowledge of more than one language. The goal of the hirings would be to „evolve and enrich Siri.“
Siri has been known for her wit and personality, with Apple attempting to allow Siri to build emotional ties with users.
Apple focused on keeping Siri’s personality „friendly and humble – but also with an edge“. According to their source, they were thinking „How would we want a person to respond?“ while developing the software.
After scaling back Siri’s original feature set for its initial launch through Apple, the company has been working to expand compatibility to new devices such as the iPad as well as new languages. Apple has also improved Siri in iOS 6 with new movie, sports and restaurant features, and is set to introduce movie ticket purchases through Fandango with the upcoming iOS 6.1.
Link to article:
Apple Looking to Hire Writers to Enhance Siri’s Witty Personality [iOS Blog]