A.I. Voices Alexa and Siri Giving Bad Advice

While voice assistants like Alexa and Siri might be good for answering trivial questions, don’t count on them to help you save someone’s life, a new study has determined.

Boston researchers asked voice assistants, which also included Google Assistant and Cortana, eight questions about performing CPR on someone who was suffering a heart emergency – and many of the questions were met with, “Hmm, I don’t know that one” or, “Sorry, I don’t understand,” according to the study. They repeated the test a total of 32 times – and the voice assistants suggested calling 911 in only nine of the attempts, says study co-author Dr. Adam Landman. And when asked specifically how to perform CPR, one offered the day’s news while another gave information on a movie called CPR, Landman says.

In response to the findings, a spokesperson for Google says the company is “always working to get better.” Reps for Amazon and Apple declined to comment.