Alexa

[surreyman]

Why doesn't my Alexa smart speaker "wake up" when their name is broadcast on TV ?

[barry1010]

I know this!  My devices used to but very rarely do now - the Amazon whizzkids have made Alexa recognise the times when many devices hear the wake word at the same time and are programmed to ignore it.

 

[barry1010]

More technical explanation here

Why Alexa usually won't respond when someone says 'Alexa' on TV | VentureBeat

[Old_Geezer]

The fact that they are permanently listening to you at all should be a concern.

[barry1010]

https://venturebeat.com/business/why-alexa-usually-wont-respond-when-someone-says-alexa-on-tv/   

[surreyman]

So when 20,000 units get their wake up call at the same time it basically says

" somethings not right here" and aborts the instruction.

Damn clever those boffins

[barry1010]

They surely are, surreyman.

I was curious as to the same thing some time ago so googled it.  At one time it was so prevalent I was thinking of changing the wake word so something more obscure