Agentic AI is Here: Less Data Sheet Grind. More Engineering

If you tried AI 2-3 years ago with unsophisticated, error-prone LLMs, Collin Stoner says it’s time to look again. In this episode, Judy Warner talks with Collin, an electrical engineer and co-founder of Zenode.ai, about the shift from one-shot answers to agents that can search, use tools, and work in parallel. Collin shows how that change is reshaping an engineer’s day: agents can surface details buried deep in datasheets and compare hundreds of components, while the engineer spends more time innovating, testing ideas, weighing tradeoffs, and making design decisions. They also openly discuss where AI still falls short, why engineering judgment matters, and how newer engineers can use these tools to learn rather than skip the learning. Zenode Website: https://zenode.ai/ Join The Engineering EEcosystem for more engineering free content, more resources and free online Masterclasses with Dr. Eric Bogatin https://theeecosystem.com 0:00 Introduction to AI in engineering 0:53 Understanding Zenode 3:28 The evolution of AI tools 7:40 Defining the role of engineering judgment 13:21 Practical power supply use case 23:10 Optimizing research workflows 27:43 Addressing AI skepticism 34:20 Learning and future outlook