The gadgets we think of as home essentials have changed beyond recognition in the past few decades. In 1970, just 35 per cent of homes had a landline telephone and there were no mobiles. Now, technologies that were once the stuff of science fiction are part of our daily lives: take Amazon's Alexa – inspired by the talking computer on the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek. Today, millions of British households own these'smart speakers' that allow voice commands to control everything from TVs to lighting systems. Indeed, as of this year, one in five households will be'smart', with devices that are wirelessly connected to the internet, and controlled via smartphone or a hub.

I've quickly grown accustomed to having instantaneous access to the entirety of human knowledge pretty much anywhere and at any time (otherwise known as googling from a smartphone). But you know what feature of the magical unfolding digital future really blows me away? The fact that, in my house, I can say "Alexa, play Led Zeppelin," and start irritating my children within seconds. Alexa is the pleasant personality baked into Amazon's Echo Bluetooth speaker; she's staring at me right now from the kitchen table, breathlessly listening for her name. Google just announced a similar product called Home, and Apple's Siri can pull this off, as well.