
If you told me 5 years back that A.I.s could get married, I wouldn’t have believed you. After all, it sounds like something right out of a sci-fi film or a game (I’m thinking of Detroit: Become Human). Despite all that, it’s happened! Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, and Amazon’s A.I. Alexa, got married – the first ever A.I.s to do so.
Siri’s and Alexa’s wedding was held at Belvedere Castle in Vienna, Austria, on 12 April this year. The ceremony was officiated by Austrian drag queen, Holger Thor, who tells the attendants: “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.”
Watch the heartwarming ceremony here:
Why host the wedding in Vienna in particular?
Of course, there was a reason for which Siri and Alexa’s wedding was held in Vienna, and why Holger Thor mentions what she does while officiating.
The ceremony was organized by the Vienna Tourist Board to promote the city’s EuroPride event that will be hosted in June. It will be Vienna’s first Pride event after legalising same sex marriage in January. That’s an important and monumental occasion, and what better way to commemorate than to host the world’s first A.I. marriage?
That, and under the same channel, Siri and Alexa have a couple more videos together. Apart from the one of their wedding ceremony, here’s a video of their honeymoon, which they also had in Vienna:
Though the wedding’s main purpose was to advertise for Vienna’s Pride event, it’s a charming way to start conversations on the topic of same-sex marriages as well!
In her vows, Alexa said that she knows “many people think it’s not meant to be, but times have changed. Here in Vienna, we are free to love.” Times are truly changing. Hopefully, with enough time, mindsets will change too: to become more tolerant and respectful, if not accepting, if they haven’t already come around.