You Can Now Legally Load Siri Onto An iPhone 4

Siri is freaking cool, but unfortunately if you’re not a hacker the chances of accessing Apple’s DARPA-funded AI on anything but an iPhone 4S are nil. But a new iOS update makes some Siri hacking legal. Is Apple willing to free Siri?

It appears that the latest revision to iOS 5.0.1 has a teeny tiny change which makes Siri legally portable to the iPhone 4. Previously encrypted files, which allow you to port Siri, have been liberated, which means it’s possible to get at them and load them onto an iPhone 4 without violating Apple’s copyright. Until Apple closes up this little leak, hackers have unprecedented access to Siri without breaking the law.

This of course doesn’t mean you’re going to have Siri overnight. You still need access to an iPhone 4S and some devy knowledge to get Siri on an iPhone 4 — seems like an awful lot of trouble. But it’s exciting news because it might indicate that Apple is willing to loosen its grip on the AI down the line. [Cult of Mac]