I don't buy many gadgets. On the whole, I like to get a long use out of any product. My flatscreen TV is 17 years old and going strong, I am not interested in the latest model of anything really.

But a week or so ago I did buy a little device called the Echo Dot which has the capacity to perform various tasks via Alexa. I can play music, listen to the radio, look up information, get a weather report and so forth, all by summoning Alexa and making the request.

Alexa is not a perfect assistant but does a reasonable job. She has a stock in trade of comments, jokes and songs to start and end the day and there are many kinds of questions you can ask. I can see how such an assistant might develop a serious capacity for conversation in the near future.