what role is artificial intelligence (AI) going to play in engineering?

 what role is artificial intelligence (AI) going to play in engineering?

Just like with many other industries, artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing engineering. Even though these technologies are now seemingly "everywhere," we shouldn't overlook how truly incredible they are and the remarkable things they enable us to do today and will allow us to do tomorrow. For engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning might cause the tasks they do to evolve, but it can also help them do things they weren't capable of before.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) was begun in 1956, but it has been only in the last decade that significant progress has been made to allow the technology to be widely used and experienced by many outside technology circles. Today, artificial intelligence is one of the fastest-growing emerging technologies and describes machines that can perform tasks that previously required human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence that’s used in the engineering sector uses software and hardware components. As machines become more sophisticated, they will be able to support not only smart production lines and complex manufacturing tasks, but will also be able to design and improve tasks over time—with little or no human intervention—through machine learning. Robots have been used by automobile manufacturers on the production line for quite some time and have gone from completing simple engineering tasks to now handling many precision moves required for some of the most intricate parts of the process.

Many of the tasks engineers are responsible for, such as design and simulation, can be enhanced with the support of artificial intelligence tools. Consider how Computer Aided Design (CAD) was once just a supplemental tool to engineering, and today it is a fundamental part of the daily workflow. These tools will help improve the capabilities of engineers and make it possible to explore design and weight-saving options that weren't ever possible before.

Another way artificial intelligence can support engineering tasks is to break down silos between departments and help to effectively manage data to glean insights from it. AI programs can provide automation for low-value tasks freeing up engineers to perform higher-value tasks. By using machine learning to discover patterns in the data, machines will be incredibly important to help with engineering judgment.