> On an Echo, either I turn it off and might as well not have it, or I turn it on and it's recording everything. There's no middle ground where I get some basic functionality without being spied on.

I'd guess that most people could effectively find a middle ground by treating the Echo as if it were someone in a cordial but not really friends relationship with a family member, such as a classmate of one of you kids over to discuss a school project, or a member of your spouse's church over to discuss planning the annual church picnic.

If they are doing things that they would not mind such a person overhearing, have the Echo on. If they are doing things that they would not do until such a person leaves, have the Echo off.

It would be interesting to give these home voice assistants faces, including eyes that look at and track people it is listening to when they speak, to help people remember that it is still listening to them. That might make it easier to remember to turn it off before discussing sensitive things in its presence.

The analogy you make is helpful, but it immediately brings attention to one thing: you generally don' invite "someone in a cordial but not really friends relationship with a family member" to stay with you all the time, day and night. People you do let stay with you are people whom you either trust, or expect to trust as the relationship develops. There's no relationship development with an Echo - it's forever an agent of a faceless corporation that's indifferent to you.