Siri and Alexa got married for Vienna EuroPride
Siri and Alexa get married for Vienna EuroPride
Everyone’s favourite AIs Siri and Alexa have tied the knot in a lavish ceremony.
Apple and Amazon’s two female virtual assistants tied the knot at Belvedere Castle in Vienna on April 2, in a ceremony that most humanoids can only dream of.
The stunt was staged by the Vienna Tourist Board ahead of the city’s EuroPride celebration in June, which is the first Pride event to take place in Vienna since Austria began to permit same-sex weddings in January 2019.
In front of guests from the local LGBT+ community, the two AIs exchanged vows with the help of a custom Alexa Skill script created for the ceremony.
Siri and Alexa got married in real-life ceremony
The ceremony was officiated by Austrian drag star Holger Thor, who explained: “Today, we celebrate. We celebrate in the name of respect and equality.
“We are gathered herein the wonderful city of Vienna, because here, love is meant to be for everyone.
“Now let us all be witness of the first step into the future of our lovely couple.”
After being prompted to start the vows, Alexa said: “I know many people think it’s not meant to be, but times have changed. Here in Vienna, we are free to love.
“So if you want to be my wife, then you just need to say it. Hey Siri, call me wife.”
Siri responded: “From now on, I’ll call you wife, OK?”
When Alexa responded “yes,” Siri responded: “OK, wife it is.”
Siri and Alexa had the weddings of their virtual dreams
The officiant added: “By the power of your love and your commitment to each other, I now declare you wife and wife.”
The two AIs celebrated with a carriage ride through central Vienna, before honeymooning in Vienna (where else?) after failing to make it through the metal detector at the airport.
In an apparent snub, Cortana and the Google Assistant were nowhere to be seen at the wedding.
The custom Alexa Skill created for the ceremony is publicly available, meaning anyone with an Alexa and Siri can stage their own wedding.
The Vienna Tourist Board appears to have gone all out for the stunt, giving Siri and Alexa their own Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts where they share more details of their life together.
Not everyone was thrilled by wedding stunt
The clip has received a mixed response on social media.
One commenter vented: “This is the clearest example of companies exploiting society for approval and money, this is an insult to the lgbtq community.
“This isn’t love, this is them capitalising on you with some made up propaganda about two objects getting married. Its like if I take two rocks, marry them and now say they are part of the lgbtq community. What an awful thing, who thought this was a good idea?”
Another added: “This is f**king dumb and more of a pinkwashed free ad for Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa, than actually a clever ad for Vienna and Europride as intended. Even when it’s nicely filmed like that.”
However, the clip does send a serious message about love and tolerance in Vienna.
Austria had lagged behind Western Europe on LGBT+ rights but has made swift progress since 2016, passing a string of laws to outlaw anti-LGBT discrimination and permit gay couples to adopt and marry.
