AI, Data Engineering, and 2026
I recently crossed my 50th year working with computers.
That experience is mostly useless.
What is useful is recognizing early signals - the moments when something shifts productivity enough that ignoring it becomes the risky choice.
AI feels like one of those moments. Not because it’s perfect. It isn’t. Hallucinations are real. Limitations are real. Skepticism is healthy.
But so is pattern recognition.
Over the years, I’ve watched new tools arrive, mature, disappoint, and fade. Most of them never changed the fundamentals of how much work a competent engineer could get done in a day.
AI is different.
Not because it replaces engineers - it doesn’t - but because it compresses time for those who learn how to use it properly. Design work that once took days can take hours. Troubleshooting that required deep context can be accelerated dramatically.
And yes, the risks are real.
Which is exactly why “I’ll wait and see” isn’t a neutral position anymore.
In 2026, the gap won’t be between “AI engineers” and “non-AI engineers.”
It will be between professionals who understand where AI belongs in the engineering lifecycle - and those who don’t.
That’s the part most discussions miss.
AI isn’t magic. It’s leverage. And leverage applied in the wrong place breaks things.
Stephen and I have been working through this carefully:
Where AI helps.
Where it hurts.
Where it adds confidence.
And where it absolutely should not be trusted.
We decided to put all of that into a single, practical day.
On 03 Feb 2026, we’re delivering a live, one-day training called AI-Enhanced Data Engineering.
This isn’t a hype session.
It isn’t prompt theater.
And it isn’t about replacing judgment with automation.
It’s about showing how professional data engineers are using AI today - safely, pragmatically, and in ways that survive enterprise scrutiny.
If AI is on your radar - even uncomfortably so - this training was designed for you.
You can learn more and register here: entdna.com/ai-enhanced-data-engineering-feb-2026
You’re not late.
But the window for casual indifference is closing.