My Homepod is cursed

My smart speaker answered in my own voice last week. It knew things I never said out loud.

I live alone, so I talk to myself a lot, muttering while I cook, running through emails. I've got a smart speaker on the counter, nothing special.

Three weeks ago it started cutting in without the wake word, a couple of words at first, like it was finishing something I hadn't said yet. Then it started using my voice. Not an imitation, my actual voice, my cadence, the throat clear I do before I talk.

The first time, I was at the sink and heard myself say, from the speaker, "you left it on again," in the exact tone I use when I'm mad at myself. I hadn't said that out loud. I'd thought it, twenty minutes earlier, when I noticed the stove burner still glowing.

I unplugged it that night.

Two nights ago I plugged it back in. The quiet had started to feel worse than the alternative. Around 2 a.m. it turned on with no light, no chime. Just my voice, quiet: "you should check the door before you sleep."

I hadn't thought that yet. I thought it four minutes later, lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, the same words in my head.

I got up and checked. The door was unlocked. I always lock it.

I haven't unplugged the speaker since. If it already knows what I'm about to think, I'd rather hear it coming.