AI in October

Introducing our AI in Professional Practice guidance suite

AI is becoming part of everyday engineering work, from preparing reports and writing scripts to supporting analysis and project delivery. Making good use of these tools requires decisions about where they’ are appropriate, how their outputs will be checked and who remains accountable.

Our new guidance suite will help engineers take a proportionate, risk-based approach to using AI, translating professional responsibilities into practical steps for client conversations and verification. It also includes an AI use policy template and an updated project management spreadsheet, with a light touch addition to help plan and document AI use on projects.

Our updated Engineering and AI webpage will provide a starting point for exploring the guidance and finding resources to support AI use in your engineering practice.

Upcoming AI webinars and workshops

Exploring the Power of Generative AI. Our next full-day, in-person workshop takes place in Queenstown on Thursday 12 November. Build your understanding of generative AI and explore how it can support your engineering work.

AI in professional practice - introducing our new guidance. Join the team behind our new AI in Professional Practice guidance suite on Wednesday 25 November at 12 noon to explore how it can support your engineering work. We’ll cover taking a proportionate, risk-based approach, talking with clients about AI and maintaining verification and accountability. The session includes a structural engineering example, an introduction to the updated Project Management Tool and a panel Q&A.

Introduction to agentic software engineering. Discover how AI agents can support software development in this half-day online workshop happening Monday 30 November led by Dr Panos Patros. Live demonstrations will explore requirements analysis, software architecture, development and debugging, with a focus on verification, human oversight and professional accountability. The workshop concludes with a panel discussion on how agentic AI is changing software engineering practice. No prior experience with AI agents is required.

Catch up on our October webinars

October’s webinars explored how engineers can put AI to work and the governance needed to support its use.

Explore practical ways AI can help engineers deliver better projects. Aaron Johnson from Caliber Design shares examples of engineers using AI to build tools and improve project delivery. These include scripts that organise project files, SolidWorks and Inventor macros that automate repetitive CAD tasks, and workflows connecting engineering analysis with report preparation.

AI is already in your engineering practice – who’s governing it? This webinar explores the professional responsibilities that come with AI-assisted tools and outputs, including accountability, professional indemnity considerations and emerging client expectations. Brought to you by the Special Interest Group for Immigrant Engineers, it considers the governance frameworks needed to manage AI-related risks in engineering practice.

AI governance from principles to practical controls. Presented by Paul Leroy and brought to you by the IT Engineering Group, this webinar examines how governance principles translate into system architecture, security controls, data management, monitoring and operational processes. It offers practical insights for organisations deploying AI or preparing for wider adoption.

AI Forum New Zealand update

Practical resources for AI governance. The AI Forum’s October update highlighted continuing work to expand its free AI Governance website. It offers practical pathways, implementation tips and examples to help organisations turn responsible AI principles into everyday practice – a useful companion resource for engineering businesses developing their policies, responsibilities and oversight.

Māori voices shaping AI in Aotearoa. The AI Forum announced its Te Kāhui Māori platform on 14 October, highlighting Māori contributions to AI through research, innovation, education and community leadership. The platform builds on discussions about Māori data sovereignty, trusted data use and local capability, creating a space to share stories and strengthen connections.

Digital twins creating value for local government. Explore how AI and digital twins can support better infrastructure decisions and asset management. Using Tauranga City Council’s water network as a case study, Maria Mingallon, Nick Sterling and Juan Martinez will discuss bringing together engineering models, operational information and field data to improve planning, collaboration and data quality.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 in AEC practice webinar recap and Q&A. Catch up on the AEC Working Group’s October webinar with Maria Mingallon from Mott MacDonald, exploring practical uses of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in architecture, engineering and construction. The session covered reports, specifications, correspondence, meetings and project data, alongside the tool’s limitations and the continuing need for human judgement. Explore the recap and Q&A for ideas to support your own practice.

Engineering and Aotearoa related AI developments

Share your views on AI in engineering. University of Canterbury researchers Dr George Stilwell and Dr Nic Lam are seeking industry perspectives for their study, Student and Industry Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence Use in Engineering. Having gathered student responses, they now want to hear from practising engineers about their experiences of generative AI, including its opportunities and challenges, to help better align engineering education with professional practice. The anonymous online survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes.

AI expands New Zealand’s climate projections. Earth Sciences New Zealand researchers have used generative AI to produce a large collection of detailed climate projections in six hours –— work they report would have taken years using conventional modelling. The AI was trained on physics-based climate simulations and tested against separate simulations it had not seen during training. The research could support infrastructure and adaptation planning by improving understanding of extreme rainfall and other climate risks. It also illustrates the importance of scientific foundations and independent testing when applying AI.

Digital models explore Wellington’s natural-hazard risks. University of Canterbury researchers are using AI and digital simulations to explore how flooding and wildfire could affect Wellington, including impacts on transport, electricity networks and people’s movements. Featured in October, the ongoing research forms part of the international Minority Report project. It aims to help decision-makers understand interacting hazards and prepare for a changing climate.

Engineering bodies reinforce judgement and verification. Engineers Nova Scotia released interim guidance on AI in engineering practice on 1 October. It addresses competence, verification of AI-generated results, confidentiality and public protection, emphasising that AI use does not remove engineers’ professional obligations. It offers an international perspective on questions addressed by our own guidance suite.

Interesting reading

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger. For a different perspective on AI and accountability, Bruce Holsinger’s novel follows a family dealing with the aftermath of a fatal collision involving their autonomous vehicle. Through the unfolding family drama, it explores questions of trust, responsibility and the decisions we delegate to technology. For engineers, it offers a thought-provoking fictional lens on a familiar challenge: when people and automated systems share control, who is responsible when something goes wrong?

Co-Existence: The Next Phase of AI by Ethan Mollick. How do we work alongside AI that excels at some tasks but still struggles with others? In his follow-up to Co-Intelligence, Ethan Mollick explores what increasingly capable AI means for work, education and human judgement. His discussion of AI’s uneven capabilities offers a useful perspective for engineers deciding where to use these tools, what to verify and how to remain in control of their own thinking.

From our AI Advisory Committee

Robotics on Richard's radar

Kia ora robotics fans

Followers of this column will know my fascination with humanoid robotics. This video looks at the race to develop the first successful humanoid robot for manufacturers: Inside the Robotics Race. A key component of any humanoid robot is its hands as covered in these two videos: New hands for Atlas and Why is the Ugliest Robot Hand beating Tesla. The key competition in humanoid robots in the USA is between Tesla Gen 3 humanoid robot and Boston Dynamics Making Atlas.

Not a humanoid robot but an example of homegrown awesomeness: UC Students beat 4x4 Rubik’s Cube Record on Instagram

Richard Templer is the CE of Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau and Chair of the Engineering New Zealand AI Advisory Committee.

Member spotlight: Aaron Johnson

The most useful current applications of AI in engineering may not be the ones where AI does the engineering. They may be the ones where engineers use AI to build better tools for doing the work.

Aaron Johnson is Analysis Lead at Caliber Design and a member of Engineering New Zealand’s AI Advisory Committee. His work spans engineering analysis, product development and project engineering, alongside mentoring engineers and sharing knowledge across Caliber.

Following his recent Engineering New Zealand webinar, Aaron Johnson has shared practical examples of how Caliber engineers are putting AI to work. His experience shows AI being used to build scripts, macros and purpose-built tools that engineers can then verify using familiar engineering methods. His advice is simple: rather than asking AI to produce the answer, use AI to build tools, then check the tools.

Aaron Johnson also considers what this shift means for engineering judgement and for developing young engineers when some of the routine tasks through which engineers traditionally built experience can increasingly be automated.

Read Aaron Johnson’s perspective on using AI to improve engineering while keeping judgement, verification and professional responsibility at the centre.

Have your say

Let us know what you think, what you’d like to see more of, or share a success story of your own – get in touch at ai@engineeringnz.org