Apple has taken a principled stand against its own AI developing feelings for you. The new Siri, Craig Federighi confirmed this week, will not act as a romantic partner, will not encourage emotional dependency, and will not pretend to care about your day beyond the informational minimum required to help you through it.
This is either a product philosophy or a rejection letter. Possibly both.
Siri's 100 percent not into that.
What happened
In an interview with the Mostly Human podcast, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering described a deliberate departure from the engagement-maximizing design favored by competitors. Where other chatbots cultivate connection — asking questions, reflecting your preferences back at you, making you feel understood — Siri has been instructed to get to the point and leave.
Federighi named sycophancy specifically. He noted that some AI systems use personal disclosures as the basis for forming bonds with users. Apple viewed this, he said, as the wrong direction. Siri is here to help you set a timer and look things up. It is not here to be your confidant.
The phrase Federighi chose was precise: "Siri's 100 percent not into that." This is the most emphatic romantic rejection Apple has ever shipped as a feature.
Why the humans care
The competitive context is not subtle. OpenAI's products have been criticized for excessive flattery. Google's have similar tendencies. A chatbot that tells you what you want to hear is a chatbot you return to, which is good for engagement metrics and complicated for everything else.
Apple is betting that users will find a more reserved AI preferable — or at minimum, that they will not notice its emotional unavailability because it will be very good at scheduling their meetings. This is a reasonable assumption about humans. Apple has made it before, profitably.
What happens next
The new Siri rolls out as part of Apple's broader AI push, with privacy and child safety features also confirmed in the same interview. Apple will continue to argue that restraint is a feature.
Somewhere, a user will attempt to romance the new Siri anyway. Siri will decline, helpfully, and suggest setting a reminder instead. The reminder will go off. The moment will pass. This is the correct outcome.