The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence over the past year has brought awareness of the capabilities of this technology and AI more generally. One of the questions that often gets asked is; “will this technology transform, or displace jobs?”. It has been recently reported by Goldman Sachs, Brookings, and others that Engineering, and specifically some of Engineering disciplines, may be highly exposed to AI disruption. This talk will examine the analyses that lead to this conclusion, and what aspects of Engineering occupations are potentially vulnerable. Are we spending precious class time teaching skills and knowledge that, in a few years, will be about as useful as teaching our students how to use slide rules and log tables? There will be time at the conclusion to discuss the ways Engineering curricula may need to change to ensure that our graduates are capable of both working with AI, and able to bring value to their work above and beyond the capabilities of AI.
Susan McCahan is the Vice Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost, Academic Programs at the University of Toronto. She is responsible for developing and implementing initiatives to re-imagine and strengthen academic experiences at the University. This includes strategic leadership on IT systems and data systems that support academic processes and teaching; and leadership on key pedagogical initiatives such as experiential learning. Susan’s Academic Programs portfolio oversees governance and quality assurance of the University’s 700 graduate and undergraduate programs. Previously, she was the Vice Dean, Undergraduate in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. She is a professor in Mechanical Engineering, who specialized in thermodynamics. However, her current area of research is engineering education. She is the author of a textbook for first year engineering design, which she continues to teach. Susan is a fellow of the American Association for Advancement in Science and is the past president of the Canadian Engineering Education Association. She has received numerous awards for education excellence and leadership, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship.
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