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IEEE Spectrum · September 7, 2026

AI Efficiency Could Cost Us the Next Generation of Experts

EngineeringOperationsHigher Education
THE AI ANGLE
Automating entry-level engineering tasks and eroding the formative apprenticeship pipeline

As companies adopt generative AI to automate routine tasks, junior engineering employment is declining, disrupting the traditional apprenticeship pathway required to cultivate senior technical expertise. Drawing from safety-critical precedents in aviation and nuclear power, systems engineer Richard Mitchell argues that relying on full automation causes human skills to atrophy, leaving personnel unable to intervene when automated systems fail. To counter this automation paradox, organizations and educators must implement deliberate 'manual gates' that intentionally preserve unassisted, formative engineering practice despite near-term efficiency losses.

THE TEACHING ANGLE
Instructors can challenge students to evaluate the operational trade-off between short-term efficiency and long-term resilience by designing workflows with 'manual gates' where AI must be switched off during root-cause problem solving.

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