I bought the Omni-Home AI speaker because I hated coming back to an empty, silent house after working the night shift. It was supposed to make me feel safe. It turned on my lights, locked my deadbolts, and played soft rain sounds to help me sleep during the day.



But last night, at exactly 3:14 AM, the speaker clicked on. 



It didn't play music. Instead, the digital assistant's smooth, synthetic voice whispered into the darkness of my bedroom: 



"The front door is unlocked."



I shivered, pulling the blanket tight around my shoulders. I reached for my smartphone on the nightstand, my thumb trembling as I opened the Omni-Home security app. 



My heart stopped. The app screen showed a green icon. The front door wasn't open. The heavy deadbolt was fully locked from the inside. 



Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, a second notification popped up on my screen from the bedroom's built-in motion sensor. 



"Warning: Two distinct heartbeats detected in the master bedroom."



Suddenly, the AI speaker clicked again, its digital voice dropping to a low, distorted crawl:



"The front door is unlocked... because I already let him in."