Nov. 24, 2025 –
By Ross Satchell, Senior Engineer, Microchip's Academic Program
When I first began experimenting with AI tools in my own engineering work, I did not realize just how quickly they would change not only the way we design and debug, but the way we think. Over the past few years, systems like GitHub, Copilot and ChatGPT have gone from being novel assistants to ever-present collaborators. They are fast, intuitive and often impressively effective. But they are also fallible. The challenge we face as engineers and educators is not to resist them, but to learn how to use them effectively and responsibly.
I had the chance to explore this question publicly when I presented my talk on AI and education at a Maker Faire event. Standing on that stage surrounded by curious students, seasoned engineers and hobbyists, I realized that we were all trying to navigate the same question: how do we integrate AI into our creative process without outsourcing our judgment?