I can’t help but feel something is fundamentally wrong—specifically with the behavior of Amazon Echo, or rather, Alexa.
To be clear, I’m a huge Alexa fan. I’ve always made it a point to respect innovators who break new ground, and when it comes to home automation and smart speakers, I’ve stayed fully committed to Amazon’s ecosystem. I use my HomePod purely as a speaker. I never speak to Siri.
Much like the structure of the internet itself, the Alexa ecosystem is thoroughly centralized—for better or worse. In the early days, that was perfectly fine. Centralizing all personal data with Amazon felt safe, and it offered real value in return. From reminders to order consumables to voice-activated purchases, Alexa embodied the promise of the Amazon ecosystem.
But it simply hasn’t evolved. It feels like every one of Amazon’s weaknesses in the AI and IoT space is on full display here. Sure, the hardware lineup has expanded, and prices have dropped dramatically. That’s great. But the direction of progress feels completely disconnected from what I, as a user, had hoped for.
Amazon understands consumer behavior better than anyone, so I’m sure their decisions are data-driven and correct in aggregate. They’re probably giving most people what they want. Still, it doesn’t feel like the future of smart speakers.
Even Kindle, the market-dominating reading device, hasn’t shaken off its outdated software and infrastructure. That same legacy mindset seems embedded deep in Alexa, too.
Let me give a concrete example of what I consider a fatal flaw.
Managing multiple locations breaks everything. I currently use Alexa to control four different sites—my home, office, and two others—with over ten Echo devices. In this setup, saying something as simple as “I’m home” could trigger lights across all locations. And in Japanese, “denki” (“electricity”) doesn’t mean just “lights”—it can mean “power.” So asking Alexa to “turn off the electricity” might shut off everything everywhere.
Each Echo is clearly assigned to a location and a room, and each smart device is linked properly. Yet Alexa easily crosses those boundaries, overstepping permissions and doing far too much.
The only fix is to assign a unique name to every device and create unambiguous commands tailored to every location and room. In other words, you have to build a shared language between yourself and Alexa.
That process feels more like programming—or casting spells.
Alexa + room name + device/group + intended action
Once you master that grammar, you can start designing commands. But first, you need a consistent naming rule. Without it, you’ll constantly forget what you’re addressing.
There’s also an advanced technique where frequently used spells can be assigned shorthand triggers. Alexa’s “routines” let you chain multiple actions together, similar to calling a function—albeit without arguments.
Alexa + keyword
This is convenient for bundling multiple spells or shortening your incantations. But beware: you can’t use common terms or reserved keywords.
Try using “I’m leaving,” and Alexa might just say goodbye.
So what do you do? Design your spells like actual magic.
Here are some real examples of spells I use daily. Note: each location has its own context, so spell behavior varies by house or room.
Alexa + バルス
Turns off all lights in the specified house and starts cleaning. Clears garbage like garbage.Alexa + 領域展開
Same as バルス but for a different house. Adds an ending song.Alexa + 簡易領域展開
A simpler version of the above. No cleaning.Alexa + エンペラーモード
Changes lighting to focus mode, puts iPhone/Mac into Do Not Disturb, and activates an external indicator to show I’m deep in concentration.Alexa + (x)号機 + 出撃 or 撤退
Turns a specific air conditioner on or off. Can also launch or recall all units.
I’ve set up dozens of such spells. Honestly, I know it sounds ridiculous. But without them, Alexa wouldn’t understand my commands, and I’d be stuck saying long, convoluted incantations.
This alone should convey how far off expectations Alexa’s behavior is.
I’ve given up on accurate voice recognition, especially in Japanese. It’s not really Amazon’s fault. It’s just the limitations of the language. Still, I wish Alexa supported using both English and Japanese simultaneously. Then again, even Google hasn’t solved that problem—so perhaps it’s just a loss for Japanese.
There are other issues too—like account unification. Amazon’s data and authentication infrastructure causes persistent problems when trying to merge accounts across countries. But that’s a story for another time.
Where Amazon still shines is in its understanding of the consumer market, and of course, in its unmatched backend: AWS. That’s why Alexa keeps working, avoids misidentification, and supports remote control.
But even those strengths are starting to feel outdated. Like a textbook case of the innovator’s dilemma, Amazon is lagging in edge computing, decentralized authentication, and privacy-by-design. In those areas, Apple is now the one leading.
If a generative AI layer ever lands on the Echo side, many of these problems might be solved. But if Amazon chooses to process that on the cloud—true to form—the computation costs will soar. Doing it on the edge would require more expensive devices and abandoning the current ecosystem.
Will we ever be freed from spellcasting?