Fans of trivia-based game shows were delighted back in 2007 when Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? first hit the airwaves. The show pitted adults against fifth grade students to see who could answer the most questions based on a typical fifth grade curriculum. The show was pretty popular throughout its six-year run.

These days, you can only find the show in reruns. But that’s no problem. We have something else to worry about: our home automation systems. If you have any smart devices in your home, ask yourself this question: are you smarter than your smart home?

You might find yourself questioning that very thing every time you attempt to set up a new device. Today’s smart home devices are like yesterday’s VCRs. They seem simple enough to program, but they put up a fight every step of the way. It is enough to make you think that there are internal sensors laughing their digital butts off while you try to make sense of strangely vague instructions.

1. The ‘Smart’ Is in the Function

The ‘smart’ in any smart home device is in its functionality. It is not always found in design, ease-of-use, or programming. Take your typical smart thermostat. It is considered smart because it can do three things:

• Be programmed to operate automatically,
• Be accessed remotely, and
• Self-adjust after ‘learning’ your routine.

Is it smartly designed in terms of its anesthetics? Maybe or maybe not. Is it smart in terms of its ease of use? Probably not. Was the person who wrote the instruction manual smart about using simple English explanations? It is highly unlikely.

The whole thermostat thing is actually not new. When the first generation of programmable thermostats came out decades ago, it seemed like everyone was excited about buying one. But then few people actually programmed them because doing so was too complicated. They continued adjusting the temperature manually.

2. The Drive for Artificial Intelligence

Common difficulties with programming smart devices are not lost on device manufacturers. Believe it or not, they are trying to make things easier. One avenue for doing so is artificial intelligence. Let us go back to the smart thermostat. If you could design one capable of artificially learning a homeowner’s routine, that homeowner may never have to manually program it.

Imagine that sort of functionality programmed into every smart device. Imagine investing in a Vivint Smart Home package consisting of a thermostat, smart lighting, smart window blinds, and even smart irrigation. Then imagine never having to program a thing. You just locate your devices and turn them on. The system starts with a default program and learns from there. As it learns, it self-adjusts.

3. We Are on the Way

Vivint Smart Home says the technology is not quite there yet. But we are on the way to that functionality. Before too long, we will have smart devices that really don’t need our input at all. They will be able to decide for themselves how to make our homes more efficient, more comfortable, and safer.

Of course, all programming will still be subject to overriding. If you do not like what your system is doing, you can go in and change things – provided that you are still smarter than your smart home. Will any of us be?

Being smarter than your smart home isn’t too tough right now. It may be tougher a few years from now. So if you don’t want your smart home to rise up and take over, study up and stay on the cutting edge. After all, this is the 21^st century.