In what might be a quirk in Siri’s algorithm, individuals looking for escorts in Toronto keep finding themselves at a video game bar. The mix up remains unclear up till now, but the owners of Meltdown eSports Bar in Little Italy have been getting calls from people looking for prostitutes.
Meltdown is an eSports bar where customers can play or watch video games, as well as eat and drink at the same time. One of the owners of the bar, Alvin Acyapan, thinks that the similarity of the words ‘escorts’ and ‘esports’ could be the culprit. He told the Toronto Star that since the bar opened in November, he’s been getting late night calls from individuals asking for escorts, when in fact, prostitution has been outlawed in Canada since 2014.
Siri the troll
One might think that the iOS AI has something against prostitutes, or believes gamers are prostitutes, and while both ideas are somewhat comical and tragic at the same time, Apple hasn’t said anything about it. The good guys over at CNET fortunately did the honor of performing an experiment and the result is – well – similar.
The thing about the experiment is, apparently, Siri has not limited her trolling expertise in Canada alone. The same thing happens when you’re in California, which leads to the presumption that the Apple assistant performs the same response when one asks for an escort, prostitute, and even the colloquial term "hooker."
Games + escorts = fun?
After asking Siri the same question, reporter Chris Matyszczyk had been given directions to a local gamer lounge in San Jose, California, which is 49 miles away from his house, according to Siri.
The writer also tried various terms and still, Siri recommended the same establishment all over again.
Apple’s witty AI assistant and its workings are a big secret to most people, so it’s really hard to tell what could have possibly prompted it to recommend gaming bars and the like – of all places. Meanwhile, Acyapan still thinks the whole thing is funny, but he may actually change his number if the calls get out hand, he told the publication.
