Smart Devices vs Intelligent Devices

Making devices “smart” has been around for a while. In recent years almost every device we use in our everyday life has a computing power that is programmed to perform based on situations it faces and by improving this programming, devices are constantly getting smarter. But ultimately the smart device is programmed based on predetermined expected situation by a human software developer. With the new Artificial Intelligence technological advance we have not only have devices that has computing power to analyze the situation and decide based on predetermined options, but devices who can learn and adapt. The intelligent devices are, though, different form smart devices. Here's a breakdown of the key differences between smart devices and intelligent devices:

Smart Devices:

• Automation: They can perform tasks automatically based on pre-programmed settings or user commands.
• Connectivity: They often connect to the internet or a local network.
• Limited decision-making: They typically follow pre-set rules and don't have the ability to learn or adapt on their own.
• Examples: Smart plugs, thermostats, speakers

Intelligent Devices:

• Learning and adaptation: These devices can learn from data and past experiences to improve their performance and decision-making over time.
• Advanced functionality: They may utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data and respond to situations in a more nuanced way.
• Proactive assistance: Can anticipate user needs and offer suggestions or take actions without explicit instructions.
• Examples: Smart assistants, self-driving cars (still under development), robots

Think of a smart device as a helpful appliance that follows your instructions. An intelligent device is like a helpful friend who can learn your preferences and even suggest new things based on what it knows about you.

Thinking, learning, judgment, and decision-making was the sole responsibility of humans to this point. Now there are rivals for them. We now have the brain, the most complex part of being human. The next step is to put them in new generation devices.

It's important to note that the line between these two categories can be blurry. Some so-called "smart" devices might have some basic learning capabilities, and truly intelligent devices are still under development.