Engineering in an Age of Intelligent Machines

Humans have invented tools throughout history to make daily life easier, more efficient, and more interesting. Major inventions have periodically changed society and led to new models for how economies produce goods and services. These industrial revolutions are typically defined by an enabling disruptive technology such as the steam engine, electrification, personal computer, and the internet. Today, a new industrial revolution is underway as cognitive computing rapidly matures. Cognitive computing uses machine learning to emulate human learning and adaptability. These systems collaborate with humans in creative ways, enhance decision-making, and generate insights from data. They are reshaping how people learn, how information is discovered, and how engineers innovate for society. 

Many engineering students worry that cognitive systems will replace their jobs, but the role of the engineer will evolve rather than disappear. Human creativity is what drives progress and cannot yet be replicated by machines. The engineer of the future will be an expert creator, exceling at defining problems, setting requirements, brainstorming with cognitive computers, using prompt engineering to control the design process, and evaluating the solutions created by machines. Rather than replacing the engineer, cognitive computing technologies will shift engineering work toward higher-level analysis and innovation.

Future engineers will also interact with collaborative robots. It is reasonable to assume that cognitive computing will elevate robots from automated labor to contributors on engineering teams where they will assist human engineers with decisions involving design, safety, manufacturing efficiency, cost, and resource use.

In this presentation, Dr. Meier will dive into the emerging world of human-machine collaboration, the ethics of AI-driven design, and the skills engineers will need to thrive in the decades ahead.