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60 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2025 Article by Andy Shaughnessy I-CONNECT007 Advanced design technology and AI were in the spotlight at the annual Design Town Hall, held on March 19, during IPC APEX EXPO 2025. Speakers included IPC's Peter Tranitz, Matt Kelly, and Devan Iyer, as well as a panel on the use of AI in PCB design moderated by Susan Kayesar of Siemens. Aer an introduction by Peter, Matt pro- vided an update on IPC's recent design efforts, and Devan discussed some of the challenges and solutions in chip-package PCB co-design. Peter also spoke about the path forward for the IPC Design Leadership Council, which meets regularly to discuss the issues facing PCB designers and design engineers. e AI panel was focused on the future, but Susan opened the proceedings with a quote from the opening scene of the dystopic 1936 Charlie Chaplin movie Modern Times: "A story of industry, of individual enterprise— humanity crusading in the pursuit of happi- ness." I doubt AI design tools will ever take over the world, but many of us still think of Skynet when we hear the term AI, don't we? Seated on the AI panel were (L-R as shown above) Dirk Stoop, founder of the EDA soware company Flux; Savita Ganjigatti of IPC India; Steve Watt of Zuken; and IPC design instruc- tor Kris Moyer. It was a pretty lively discussion. e panel discussed whether AI in design tools would cause designers to abandon their drive to create artistic layouts and the risks vs. rewards of using AI. What are the limits to AI? How much of the designer's job could be done with AI? Will AI ever render designers obsolete? (Prob- ably not.) Everyone in the audience raised their hands when asked if they'd ever used AI. Technical Editor Kelly Dack said the ongo- ing AI conversation reminds him of how the industry first looked at the cloud 10 years ago. "I'd ask 20 people on the show floor at APEX what they thought about the cloud," Kelly said. "I'd get 20 different responses. Now the cloud is a part of our lives, and we don't even think about it. Is AI will be the same way." Let's all give a special thanks to Peter Tranitz for leading the Town Hall and steering IPC's Design Initiative. DESIGN007 Calling All Designers: The Latest Design Technology and AI