Once the Sleek is on the local Wi-Fi, users add devices through a Web dashboard. When the Sleek hears a command, it sends the audio to the WATSON language-processing server, which converts the signal to text. The Sleek scans for keywords to determine its action. (If it hears “make it warmer in here,” it gets that warmer and here mean ticking up the thermostat.) The Sleek is currently compatible with only a handful of devices, but engineers are updating its software all the time, so it’s getting smarter and more versatile with each passing month.