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Founder flags embarrassing Apple Siri glitch after voice command ends up calling a stranger’s ‘mummy’
A founder shared an awkward airport moment after Siri misheard a voice command and dialled the wrong contact.
A Patna-based founder has shared an uncomfortable yet amusing experience involving Apple’s voice assistant Siri, highlighting how everyday use of artificial intelligence can still go wrong in unexpected ways.
An airport moment gone wrong
Taking to X, the user named Atul Kumar Mishra narrated an incident that unfolded at New Delhi airport while his phone was connected to a public charging dock. In his post, he explained how a casual voice command led to an unintended call from a stranger’s phone nearby.
“Siri is bad. Yet I use Siri constantly. Mostly for calls. I was at New Delhi airport. Phone plugged into a public charging dock alongside several others, some of them iPhones. While pulling out my earbuds, I lazily said, ‘Hey Siri, call Mummy.’ Lo and behold, a different iPhone heard me. Lo and behold again, it actually dialled ‘Mummy’ on that phone. Because of course, half the country stores their mother’s number under that name,” he wrote.
According to Mishra, he immediately disconnected the call, but the situation had already escalated. “I immediately disconnected. But damage was done. ‘Mummy’ had seen a missed call and promptly called back. I couldn’t answer. I didn’t even know whose phone it was,” he added.
When AI meets social awkwardness
The episode took an even more awkward turn when the phone’s owner returned. Mishra wrote that “Ten minutes later, a young man walked up from a nearby seat, picked up the phone, and began explaining patiently to his mother that he had not called her. Awkwardness, delivered by Apple.”
Reflecting on the broader implications, he remarked, “Siri used to recognise its master’s voice. Now it recognises everyone’s. Bad upgrade.”
Take a look here at the post:
Online reactions pour in
The post drew a flurry of reactions from users. One user commented, “Whenever I hear stories of such mishaps, it reminds me that AI isn’t going to replace people anytime soon. Only a human can understand how Siri can cause such awkward situations in a culture where many of us use the same endearments for family.”
Another wrote, “Oh man, why am I seeing this just before buying an iPhone,” while a third quipped, “Alexa is perhaps more pathetic!”
Some users shared their own coping strategies. “I always save numbers by names. No nicknames. Easy to remember names then,” one comment read. Others simply enjoyed the humour, with one user summing it up succinctly: “This is hilarious.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
