Introduction
Artificial Intelligence has been rising recently, with many industries looking to implement the technology in various forms. However, there is a common myth that AI can replace human engineers and programmers altogether. That is not true and probably not possible during our lifespan. While AI can undoubtedly assist in specific tasks, it cannot replace a human engineer's creativity and problem-solving skills. Recognising AI's role in enhancing human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely is essential.
The rise of AI has led to a growing concern that automation may replace human jobs. However, it is essential to remember that AI is designed to perform specific tasks and cannot replace humans' entire range of skills and expertise. AI can help streamline specific processes but cannot replicate the intuition and experience only humans can provide. The key is to find the right balance between automation and human expertise and use AI to enhance rather than replace human capabilities.
Following the DevOps steps
An analogy can be drawn with transforming the DevOps role into Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and Platform Engineering. While DevOps was a role that focused on collaboration between development and operations teams, SRE and Platform Engineering are more focused on automation and using technology to streamline processes. The rise of the prompt engineer may be seen as similar to this transformation, focusing on automating tasks previously done by human engineers. However, it is essential to remember that just as SRE and Platform Engineering did not replace DevOps, prompt engineering cannot replace a human engineer's creativity and problem-solving skills. The key is to find the right balance between automation and human expertise and use prompt engineering to enhance rather than replace human capabilities.
For using AI, you need to know what you want (as a stakeholder)
It is important to note that AI cannot assist in specific tasks. AI does not accept incomplete orders nor understand subjective words like "make it pop" or "I want it with a bit more oomph". If you heard one of these sentences in the last week or so, congrats, your job is safe. 😛
Human engineers need to work closely with stakeholders to clearly define objectives and requirements in a way that both humans and AI can understand. By doing so, AI can be used effectively to enhance human capabilities and achieve specific goals.
The rise of prompt engineer
A prompt engineer is a professional who uses automation tools to streamline and enhance specific processes in engineering. From the word prompt, we can identify the main action of this profession: speaking with AI to pull the wanted info out of it. It might seem an easy task, but it is not (and that’s also one of the reasons why engineering is still a safe job).
The rise of this role reflects the growing importance of automation in engineering, and the inclination to hype the business community has towards shiny new things.
Like it or not, the prompt engineer is here to stay. To succeed in the industry, engineers must adapt to the growing importance of automation and find ways to use AI to enhance their skills and streamline processes. Soon “prompting” will become a necessary skill as part of your resume.
Conclusion
AI is an incredibly powerful tool that can enhance and streamline specific processes but cannot replace a human engineer's creativity and problem-solving skills. Recognising AI's role in enhancing human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely is vital. Finding the right balance between automation and human expertise is key to success.
AI will not replace your job as an engineer. An engineer using AI will.