Imagine the scene. Faced with an engineering conundrum, you log into his IMechE website. A chatbot will pop up and explain your problem. Promptly reply with detailed analysis and historical references to provide solutions based on verified and accurate data.
read more: How AI is Already Changing Engineering – The Engineer’s Role
This scenario may become possible in the future thanks to new initiatives at the institution. A new working group has been formed, led by Alan King, Head of Global Membership Strategy, to analyze and understand the opportunities offered by new artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT.
Meeting for the first time recently and bringing together representatives from across the institution, the group looks at all angles: back-end data demands, customer-facing requirements, ‘organization-wide’ opportunities, staff support and public facing activities. doing.
Mr King said:
Staff training on mainstream tools will begin later this year and will cover the opportunities presented by new AI capabilities in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 and how you can use them to improve your workflows.
The working group will then assess the situation at the end of the year, taking into account factors such as data risks and potential limitations of current infrastructure, before starting to develop plans in early 2024. What do you want to invest in, what do you want to develop,” says King.
“Immediate Feedback”
Like engineering itself, the applications of AI at IMechE are manifold. One promising area, he says, might be application processes. Applicants are required to complete a “fairly comprehensive” professional review process, so in order to provide feedback he uses OpenAI’s tools to enter and “investigate” that data. I am developing a proof.
“Traditionally, this has been done by our business development team. In the future, this could be something that can be effectively incorporated into our online application process,” he says. .
“When you fill out an application on the website, you click the button that uses AI review and you get immediate feedback. The standard is very high.”
The current system is “just like Heath Robinson,” King said, with a framework built on Excel built into ChatGPT. In the future, models from the OpenAI API may be available. This allows users to set more parameters and build their own applications.
Before being integrated into the website, the tool is first used by the business development team during the review process or in face-to-face meetings with applicants and members. A system like this could streamline his review process and free up staff to spend more time on other tasks, King said.
However, some chatbot tools may find their way into your website sooner or later. One simple application could be an assistant helping members navigate her website, but it could become even more powerful in the future.
For example, if IMechE builds its own Large Language Model (LLM), it can be trained on its own resources, data, and rich archive information. “Engineering he can also be a resource for people to ask questions if needed,” King says. “We can then provide very detailed analysis on the subject and history of engineering.”
Using a closed system could avoid inaccuracies and misinformation that occur during conversations with ChatGPT and other chatbots, he adds.
From creator to editor
Elsewhere within the institution, other tools, such as the AI video generation platform Synthesia, could offer creative opportunities for membership marketing. The platform has several features such as ‘duplicating’ the human voice and reading text out loud with a virtual avatar.
“You can make a quick competency video, a two-minute video, a 30-second video about what IMechE does,” says King.
He gave an example to a friend who makes short videos for companies. “He said, ‘To do that, we’re going to charge you about £5,000 to get the actors, write the script, shoot it and do everything that’s included in that video’.” On a MacBook he did it in an hour, very good. “
He adds: They mean you can do more, possibly faster, and produce interesting output. We will probably be editors, not just creators…that should empower people and organizations to do more interesting and exciting things. “
improve the world
In the future, other opportunities may be included, such as networking platforms that analyze members’ profiles and suggest collaborations and partnerships, and training development tools that look at members’ competencies and offer personalized training plans. I have. Mr King said:
By improving the experience of IMechE members and staff, AI can benefit humanity and the planet by enhancing the agency’s ability to achieve its goal of “improving the world through engineering.”
“With these tools, we can work towards that, which has clearly always been the overarching goal of the agency,” says King.
Alan King will be on the next episode of IMechE’s Impulse to Innovation podcast to discuss AI in engineering. Visit his website for podcasts or subscribe to Apple Podcasts to listen to episodes as soon as they’re released.
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Society of Mechanical Engineers.
