To Siri With Love, an autistic child’s mother gives thanks to tireless digital friend

Judith Newman was persuaded to write To Siri With Love after the reaction to her article in The New York Times telling of her autistic son’s “affinity” with Apple’s virtual assistant. Instead of technology being isolating, it was receptive, polite and “nice”, everything you’d want an imaginary friend to be, except that Gus didn’t communicate with Siri thinking it was human. He just felt inanimate objects were worthy of consideration – and marriage (Siri turns him down diplomatically). And, Newman admits, frankly, the tirelessness with which Siri “discussed” planes, escalators and the weather with Gus was a relief because she valued her sanity as much as she loved her son, one of fraternal twins who, aged six, was described as being “on the spectrum”.