Three AI tools. Three different answers for a simple engineering problem. All confident. Which one should the engineer trust?

That scene opens this book, and it is not an argument against AI — it is an argument for the engineer. Generative AI has become the most capable analytical assistant that engineers have ever had access to. It is also fluent enough to bypass the very judgment it is supposed to support.

Written for undergraduates and junior engineers, this book is about developing new habits for the AI era — habits designed to fully leverage AI's immense potential while staying grounded in fundamental engineering principles. These habits are organized into a structured framework: GUARD for analysis problems, and SPAR for synthesis problems. Every habit is illustrated with concrete examples and justified with the rigor and skepticism the profession demands.

This book aims not just to help you survive the AI era but to excel in it.