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26 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2026 None of these personality types is sufficient on its own. Successful PCB projects depend on knowing when to listen, when to explain, and when to adapt your message to the audience in front of you. AI can process language and, apparently, now complete a PCB layout. But will future AI models render fundamental PCB design skills and an apti- tude for navigating people and personality types obsolete for engineers? So, How Does That Make You Feel? I don't change jobs often. I still believe employ- ment is a two-way investment where I apply what I know while continuing to learn, and one that, over time, creates mutual value and trust. We have entered an era where knowledge alone is no longer a differentiator. AI can retrieve it instantly, articulate it fluently, and distribute it end- lessly. But how will it earn our trust? For younger designers who will appear to be jumping ahead without a foundation of deep, well- founded experience, this moment brings excitement but may be compared to running with scissors. For seasoned professionals nearing retirement, it brings astonishment and maybe a little mistrust—a rare industry-wide inflection point and something akin to the shift from light tables and taped-up artwork to CAD and CAM decades ago. What AI cannot replicate is presence: the human ability to adapt in real time, sense nuance, and make decisions when the rules are unclear, lost, or forgotten. As automation accelerates, uniqueness no longer comes from what we know but from how we may need to respond socially, analytically, structurally, and conceptually. Look around. Much of what you see today will change, and it will change quickly. The question is not whether AI will advance, but whether we who bring humanity to it will adapt alongside it. My guess is that successful adaptation will look less like mastering another tool or workflow, and more like continuing to add value, or mastering ourselves through: • Proactive learning: Problem-solving, trade shows, supplier visits, understanding stake- holder needs, and learning to leverage awesome AI technology to cut PCB layout timelines • Emotional management: Empathy, balance, and transitioning from fluid intelligence to crystallized intelligence, as described by Raymond Cattell and highlighted in From Strength to Strength, by Arthur C. Brooks • Resilience: Bouncing back, managing stress, staying flexible, and strategic Knowledge may no longer be power, but adaptation is. Kelly Dack, CIT CID+, specializes in DFx-driven PCB design and applications engineering at Pioneer Circuits, Inc., a global leader in high-reliability flex and rigid-flex printed wir- ing boards for defense, aviation, near-earth orbit and deep-space explora- tion systems. To read past columns, click here. " The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher." I love this proverb: TA RG E T C O N D IT I O N