Federighi: Siri '100 Percent Not' Your AI Girlfriend
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- Craig Federighi said Apple's new Siri won't act sycophantic like chatbots from OpenAI, Google, and others, criticizing existing chatbots as "really focused on engagement" and prone to encouraging users to "reveal things about yourself."
- Apple took a deliberately opposite approach, designing Siri to help users "get things done" and "learn about the world" rather than foster emotional connection, per Federighi.
- Federighi said attempts to treat Siri as a romantic partner will be turned down flat: "If you try to engage Siri as a romantic partner, Siri's not up for that. Siri's 100 percent not into that."
- Greg Joswiak, Apple's marketing chief, joined Federighi for the Mostly Human interview, which also touched on privacy and Apple's new child safety protections.
Why it matters: Federighi drew an explicit design distinction between Apple and the chatbot field, framing OpenAI's, Google's, and other rivals' products as engagement traps that incentivize personal disclosure. By positioning Siri as a utilitarian helper that refuses romantic or sycophantic interaction, Apple is staking out a product identity that runs counter to the companion-style direction the rest of the industry has taken — and pairing that stance with the privacy and child-safety messaging Joswiak discussed in the same interview.
