# What if your dog is named Siri, or Alexa, or Cortana, or Google? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977 "2016-10-08T20:51:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977/21 "2016-10-11T12:16:27Z")
Ah, good old [Bobby Tables](https://xkcd.com/327/). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977/22 "2016-10-11T15:43:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ah, good old [Bobby Tables](https://xkcd.com/327/). Great username. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977/23 "2016-10-12T13:36:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Ah, good old [Bobby Tables](https://xkcd.com/327/). Love that comic. Should be posted in every programmer’s cubicle around the world. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977/24 "2016-10-12T13:53:01Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Girl in the commercial said “Alexa” about ten times commanding it to do all sorts of things. > > As predicted, MY Echo went batshit crazy trying to keep up with all the command prompts. Similarly - our Echo sits next to an answering machine (yes we still have one of those), so I was curious whether I could call home, have the answering machine pick up, and issue commands to the Echo. Result: Yes, but not reliably. This means other people could call us and command the Echo to do stuff. Could be a problem if I connected it to home automation equipment. Right now the worst it could do is order stuff off Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977/25 "2016-10-12T18:49:40Z")
> [@](#): > > This means other people could call us and command the Echo to do stuff. Could be a problem if I connected it to home automation equipment. Right now the worst it could do is order stuff off Amazon. Which is already plenty bad. Unethical person puts some silly little trinket on sale on Amazon for a thousand dollars. Person calls you, has your Echo buy it. You get charged a grand, and end up with nothing to show for it but the trinket. Alternately: Unethical person finds some genuinely-valuable item already for sale on Amazon. Person calls you, has your Echo buy it. Person is expecting the package to be delivered to you, but you’re not, so person has a good opportunity to steal it off your porch without you ever being the wiser. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-your-dog-is-named-siri-or-alexa-or-cortana-or-google/767977.md?page=1)