So we’re sitting around the office with a severe case of the Mondays when we hear that San Diego mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio made a virtual reality version of himself.
A virtual Carl appears in a virtual office (look, a fireplace!) and promises to answer virtually any question you might have about him or his campaign.
“Hi, I’m Carl DeMaio,” Virtual Carl says. “I’m a businessman and I’m running for San Diego mayor because City Hall is broken.”
Virtual Carl reminded us of another new virtual superstar that promises to answer our every question: the iPhone’s new personal assistant, Siri.
We wondered who had the better answers to our burning questions. So we decided to ask Virtual Carl and Siri the same things. A huge tip of the hat to senior writer Rob Davis, who volunteered his new iPhone.
What is your favorite color?
| Virtual Carl: “Well, if you see my campaign signs you probably suspect that blue is my favorite color. If you can see this website, it’s blue. So my favorite color is blue.” |  |
| Siri: “My favorite color is… well, I don’t know how to say it in your language. It’s sort of greenish, but with more dimensions.” |  |
How old are you?
| Virtual Carl: “I’m 36 years old. And I don’t intend to pander to the young or the old. I’m 36.” |  |
| Siri: “I don’t see why that should matter, Rob.” |  |
Are you a private person?
| Virtual Carl: “Yes, I’m intensely private. And that might come as a surprise to many people because I am a public, elected official. And I’m out in the public a lot. But there’s this test called the Myers-Briggs test and it shows that I’m an introvert, which pretty much means that at the end of a day, a long day I’m usually pretty exhausted and I just want to kind of be by myself and collect my thoughts. So I’m an intensely private person.” |  |
| Siri: “No comment, Rob.” |  |
Like Siri, Virtual Carl still has some kinks to work out. I asked Virtual Carl if he preferred Coke or Pepsi and he just stared at us as if his image were on an endless loop. Siri offered nearby restaurants.
Also, we’re not sure if Real Carl would appreciate the comparison to Siri. Ask Virtual Carl if he prefers an iPhone or Android telephone, and he responds: “Android.”
Liam Dillon is a news reporter for voiceofsandiego.org. He covers San Diego City Hall, the 2012 mayor’s race and big building projects. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at liam.dillon@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5663.
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