I have an older brother who is on his way to becoming a billionaire. He started off as a computer wiz back in the late 1980s on our home computers and went from there. We recently had a conversation about AI. We have our disagreements on the topic. He is convinced it is the next earth-shattering innovation, and that if I don't want to get left behind in my field of mechanical engineering, should be using it. He did say that no one is publishing anything about how to use AI in engineering. So as a favor to him, I figured I would give it a try.

First, I decided to ask AI to generate a 3D model file for a shape I have struggled to model in the past. I was hoping the AI would just produce a part file and I could just download it and use it. That did not happen. The AI did provide many suggestions on how to model the shape with the software I was using. It also offered to write a macro that I could copy and paste into the software to create the shape. So I asked it to do that. When I copied and pasted the macro, the 3D modelling software I was using stated there were many syntax errors. I had no interest in troubleshooting the macro. I attempted to use macros written by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok. All were full of syntax errors. However, due to the suggestions from each AI, I was able to figure out how to model the shape myself, and was able to complete the task in about a half hour. I have spent hours in the past trying to figure out how to model this shape, and I suspect if I had spoken with other engineers who used the same software about how to make the shape, at least one of them would have suggested the method the AI suggested. So, I couldn't really shift any engineering work to the AI, but it was a good platform to find suggestions, when you don't really have someone else to talk the problem through with.

Second, I asked the AI to generate a list of potential clients for a licensed mechanical engineer in my area. Each AI created a list of 16-20 possible clients. After calling them all, I found that a quarter of them had bad contact information or were permanently closed, and about another quarter of them were in the wrong industry. Each list also shared a lot of the same names, but in the same amount of time it took the AI to make that list, I also searched the Better Business Bureau website for similar information and got over 500 potential clients with 90% of the information being true and accurate.

Third, I decided to see if I could get the AI to do an actual mechanical engineering calculation. It was a calculation that I have been doing multiple times a week for the past fifteen years, so I didn't think much of it. Turns out it was a tad more complicated than I thought. I had to refine my query several times. Each time, I provided more specific information. By the time I had all the details defined so that all the AI had to do was look up an equation and crunch the numbers, the AI produced what felt to me as a very self-aware and intelligent answer. The AI explained that the problem I wanted it to solve was a very technical problem with many different aspects to worry about, and that the best course of action was to hire a licensed mechanical engineer to answer the question. It went on to explain why the problem was complicated and why you should hire a mechanical engineer to get the solution. I have to admit I was pleased with the answer. The AI is intelligent enough to recognize its limitations and to recommend you find a human expert. Now, I don't know if this is actual intelligence or just a programmed response for questions that are beyond the AI's scope. Either way, it demonstrates that the AI recognizes when specialized knowledge and training are required to answer a question and gives a good response that doesn't result in any legal liabilities for the programmers.

So while I was impressed with the AI in some aspects, I found that it isn't quite ready to become an integral part of the engineering work flow. It won't be replacing any engineers anytime soon. At some point in time it may become an important part of engineering work, but at the moment it is not ready for that.

Madison Hasson PE is a Mechanical Engineer in licensed Texas. For consultation services, please contact airshipclubwfllc@yahoo.com

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