The AI Gold Rush: Why IT Network Engineers Can't Afford to Miss It

The WSJ reveals the massive AI investments shaping the future of IT - and your career.

Click the following link to read the 9/5/24 Wall Street Journal article, "Costs of AI Bets Soar Along With Hopes" which highlights the massive investments companies are making in AI, despite the uncertainty of returns. The key takeaway for IT network engineers is that AI is not just a passing trend; it's a transformative force that will reshape industries and the economy.

The article emphasizes that AI's impact will be comparable to the electrification of the economy, revolutionizing how systems operate. This means that IT professionals who embrace AI and develop the skills to build AI-powered applications will be in high demand and well-positioned for success in the future.

The future of IT is AI. Are you ready to surf?

Here are some specific tips from the article that IT network engineers can incorporate into their AI4IT training vision:

• Understand the Scale of AI Investment: The article highlights the staggering sums being invested in AI, indicating its potential for significant disruption. IT professionals need to recognize the magnitude of this trend and prepare for its impact on their field.
• Focus on End-Customer Value: The article emphasizes that the true value of AI lies in connecting the technology to solve real-world problems and deliver value to end customers. IT engineers should focus on developing AI skills that enable them to build practical applications that address customer needs.
• Develop Both Technical and Intuitive Skills: The article states that the best AI products will require both technical expertise and an understanding of how customers want to interact with AI. IT professionals should strive to develop a balance of technical and soft skills to create user-friendly and effective AI solutions.
• Embrace Continuous Learning: The rapid evolution of AI necessitates continuous learning and adaptation. IT engineers should actively seek out training opportunities and stay updated on the latest AI advancements to remain competitive in the job market.

In conclusion, the article serves as a wake-up call for IT network engineers. The AI wave is coming, and those who are prepared to ride it will have a significant advantage in their careers. By incorporating these tips into their AI4IT training vision, IT professionals can position themselves at the forefront of this technological revolution.

 

How ChatGPT Recommended Colab to Solve .PCAP to .CSV Problem

So I was trying to create an AI GPT bot that could take a Wireshark .PCAP "packet capture" file and help an IT engineer analyze the problem at hand that caused the engineer to run the packet capture in the first place.

I was engaged in a chat on the subject with OpenAI's ChatGPT winch you can review at this link, but as you can see from the first half of the chat, I was under the general impression that I could upload the Wireshark .PCAP file into an OpenAI custom GPT I was trying to build when it suddenly dawned on me that ChatGPT was trying to explain to me that ChatGPT can't read a .PCAP directly and the .PCAP needed to be converted to .CSV first since AIs generally only read TEXT based files & .CSV is a text based file.

I then queried "How do I convert .PCAP to .CSV" after learning that ChatGPT could also not do that for me as part of the custom GPT I was trying to build and that I could do it for free by just installing some program on my desktop computer called "Scapy" and maybe a couple other similar programs so I can fun "Python" and create my own .PCAP to .CSV desktop PC based file converter.

In trying to follow all this free advice I then discovered that the laptop I was using from my client was quite locked down and did not allow me to install downloaded computer programs all willy nilly and I was pretty sure I didn't want to put in a trouble ticket to have them install Scapy for me after I explained to them what I was doing & why I needed Scapy.

That's when the "magic AI moment" happened when I asked ChatGPT, "Can't his sort of stuff be done in the cloud?" to which ChatGPT replied, "Of course, just use Google's Colab!" (Like everyone's supposed to know that, right?!)

Documentation of one of Dan's many AI "Ah Ha" Moments! See the whole chat at https://chatgpt.com/share/42a76dc3-d6c5-4af5-9907-adc62ad10929

Ten minutes later I had created a free Google Colab account and was testing Python code supplied to me by ChatGPT in response to, "I don't know anything about Python, can you just give me whatever Python code I need to convert a .PCAP file to a .CSV file?

The Moral to This Story?

The magic of AI means you really don't need to know anything about solving a technology problem other than steps number one & four of the AI: bot building process which are: 1) What is your starter prompt & file? (in this case a .PCAP file) and, 4) What do you want to get out of the bot? (a .CSV file that exactly replicates the original .PCAP).

If all you know is what you're starting with & what you want to get at the end, the different AI platforms will explain everything you need to supply for steps two and three - which are what "knowledge documents" do you need and what "special instructions" need to be considered in addition to the original user prompt.