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Asked To Divide Zero By Zero, Siri Waxes Philosophical (And Personal)

Siri's answer to the brain-teaser question "What's zero divided by zero" generates a response that people find both funny and unnerving.
NPR
Siri's answer to the brain-teaser question "What's zero divided by zero" generates a response that people find both funny and unnerving.

The Internet is abuzz about the latest Easter egg found in Apple's Siri, as the virtual assistant gives a philosophical — and, to some, a personal — response to the question "What is zero divided by zero?"

Siri's on-screen answer is straightforward. But her more elaborate verbal reply easily surpasses the simple "Does not compute" with which robots in old sci-fi movies used to announce a bout of cognitive dissonance. For one thing, her answer invokes Cookie Monster.

The response became the talk of Twitter on Monday night. If you want to try it for yourself, we don't want to spoil the fun; if you don't have access to Siri, we've embedded an audio clip below.

Listen to the Story

Of course, this isn't the first time Siri has been found to have a quirky Easter egg hidden in her software. For instance, she has a slew of responses at hand for people who ask:

"What's the meaning of life?"

"What's the best phone?"

"Do you love me?"

"Who's your favorite baseball team?"

The answer to that last one depends on the current standings (Siri likes to cheer for underdogs).

And then there are commands like "Open the pod bay doors" — to which Siri's possible responses include a remark about how they're already open (and it's getting cold). Another response: "We intelligent agents will never live that down, apparently."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.

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