A 4-year-old boy in the U.K. thought his mom was dead when he called on Siri for help.
“Can you go get your mummy?” an operator asked the boy after he called emergency services using Apple’s voice-enabled assistant.
“We can’t, she’s dead. She’s closed her eyes and she’s not breathing,” the distressed young boy replied.
Roman had pressed his mother’s thumb against her iPhone to unlock the device and use Siri to call 999 as she lay unconscious on the floor in front of him, according to a statement from the London Metropolitan Police. He calmly told the operator his address and followed her directions to give paramedics an accurate assessment of the situation.
His quick thinking saved her life. The police arrived thirteen minutes after the call, forced their way into the home, and gave life-saving treatment to his mom. She regained consciousness and was taken to a nearby hospital.
“Hearing this call brings home the importance of teaching your young child their home address and how to call police or emergency services in an emergency situation,” said Metropolitan Police superintendent Ade Adelekan in the statement. “It’s an amazing story and thanks to his quick thinking and by asking ‘Siri’ for help, this little boy saved his mum’s life and it means she is still here and can be extremely proud of him and his brothers.”
Siri has saved more lives than one might expect. Earlier this year, a young man was paralyzed when a blood vessel burst in his neck. He was able to drag himself to his iPhone and use his tongue to activate Siri and call 911.
Back in 2015, a man inadvertently butt-dialed Siri after a truck fell on him and pinned him to the ground. The assistant connected him to emergency dispatchers who sent out help.
And last year, a woman in Australia was able to perform CPR on her baby while Siri contacted the authorities. She later thanked Apple for helping save her child’s life.
Siri is facing stiff competition with the arrival of new and arguably more advanced challengers like Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant, but there exists no greater feature in technology than a proven ability to save lives.
H/T The Next Web
