Amazon gadget hijacks owner's heating after hearing radio report

Echo, a home automation gadget, reset its owner's thermostat after mistaking NPR broadcast on its capabilities for a voice command

Voice control is great. You can shout at your electronics, and they actually do what you want. Unfortunately, all too often that means other people can also shout at your electronics, and they do what they want instead. Electronics aren't very smart.

The latest group of gadget fans to discover the downside of talking to their hardware are owners of Amazon's Echo, the all-singing, all-dancing home automation device produced by the Seattle-based retailer. Hiding inside Echo is Alexa, the (inevitably gendered) personal assistant: simply ask Alexa to perform a task, from playing your favourite song to dimming the lights in your smart home, and she will.