Question: Is there a "smart device" in existence which can function well without requiring a remote agent on the backend who watches you? Where do I find such a thing?
The HomePod is probably the closest you’ll get. Voice recognition for the trigger word happens on device, and requests are anonymized using differential privacy. iMore goes into more detail. Apple has no use for watching you, so they don’t. Amazon wants your shopping habits, Google wants anything they can use in advertising.