I get extra excited daily as I be taught one thing new. Nevertheless, I even have my justifiable share of issues concerning the future—particularly on the subject of AI and the way it will affect the function of community engineers. Okay… I most likely have extra than my justifiable share of issues. (That received’t come as a shock in the event you’ve been following the previous few years of my journey, exploring the “AI FUTURE!!!”)
First off, I wish to be very clear. I’m excited about the way forward for community engineering, community automation, and my place on this great world and group. The truth is, my current weblog, Navigating the AI Period as a CCIE, discusses how superior it’s to be a CCIE proper now.
I usually give attention to the place I see the optimistic potentialities. How AI could make our lives and work as community engineers higher.
However immediately, I wish to speak about one thing that worries me: how the AI future is being mentioned and described. My hope is that by discussing it, we are able to keep away from the worst potential dystopian imaginative and prescient of that future. Whereas I like studying books or watching films about these dystopian futures (a responsible pleasure of mine), I don’t wish to stay in a type of worlds. I’m additionally hoping that you simply, my group, might help me perceive whether or not my concern about the way forward for AI is overblown. So, let’s dive in, we could?
I don’t wish to be an AI babysitter…
There’s a phrase that has been exhibiting up in displays, blogs, articles, movies, press releases, authorities documentation, and nearly in all places else discussing how AI will affect the way forward for work. The phrase refers to an method known as “human-in-the-loop.”
So, what is “human-in-the-loop?”
I simply did a Google seek for “‘human within the loop’ ai cisco” and Gemini was useful in giving me this abstract:
Cisco emphasizes “human-in-the-loop” AI, that means integrating human oversight and suggestions into AI techniques to make sure accountability, moral issues, and dependable decision-making, particularly in areas like safety and knowledge evaluation.
That doesn’t sound unhealthy, proper? Right here’s one other snippet from a paper I lately learn on AI and the way forward for job roles:
The extent to which it [Gen AI] can substitute people within the office will rely on the need for human oversight of machine-performed duties.
Little doubt you’ve seen or heard related descriptions of what it is going to take to “safely” combine AI into day-to-day duties. Right here’s my understanding of why human-in-the-loop comes up again and again in discussions.
It comes down to a couple factors:
- Utilizing AI presents a “worth” companies can NOT ignore. What that worth is can range, nevertheless it usually comes down to hurry: AI is just sooner than people.
- AI isn’t all the time proper. And AI can’t be held accountable for errors.
- By having a human log out on the AI work, errors will probably be caught. And in the event that they aren’t, there’s somebody to be held accountable.
I’m NOT saying that the above factors are factually legitimate. The truth is, every of these statements on their very own deserves plenty of deep consideration and dialogue. However for the sake of this weblog put up, let’s take them as they sit to additional discover my issues a few future the place Hank is a “human within the loop” for AI techniques.
Right here’s the issue with “human-in-the-loop”
I like being a community engineer. I like creating community designs to fulfill enterprise calls for. I get pleasure from creating configurations and engineering sturdy routing protocols. I discover the method of troubleshooting a community situation rewarding.
I’ve spent years of my life studying the talents it takes to DO community engineering. And I nonetheless have a few years forward of me as a community engineer. I even have lots to supply the businesses, networks, and crew members I’ll work with sooner or later.
Each description I’ve learn or heard about “human within the loop” locations the human close to or on the finish of “the loop.” An AI software is posed an issue, query, or set of knowledge to work on. Then, AI generates its resolution, which is then despatched to a human to evaluation, settle for, reject, or make modifications.
After I take into consideration this idea, I can’t assist however conjure up an image of row after row of people spending their days listening for the “ding” of a brand new proposed AI work merchandise, ready for the human to do their factor so the AI can proceed on its “loop,” finishing the work. That simply doesn’t sound like the longer term community engineer I wish to be.
Which can come first: AI or expertise?
There’s something else I ponder about on this “human within the loop” imaginative and prescient of the longer term. A human community engineer’s capability to determine a mistake made by AI depends on whether or not that community engineer has made that very same mistake previously. Or, on the very least, they want sufficient community engineering expertise to note when one thing is fallacious.
As of now, now we have skilled community engineers who can “oversee” AI brokers and determine potential points. Heck, that’s half of what senior community engineers and CCIEs do anyway: help the up-and-coming community engineers on our crew by reviewing their work and serving to them be taught from their errors.
However how will future up-and-coming community engineers acquire the expertise of being a community engineer if they’re merely a cog in “the loop?”
And sure, I’m absolutely conscious that that is an excessive instance and never what individuals imply once they say “human within the loop” or “human oversight.” Regardless, it’s essential that we contemplate the sort of excessive consequence now, when the way forward for community engineering is being written. As a result of I completely assume there’s a means this narrative may be rotated—a future imaginative and prescient the place community engineers proceed to be community engineers greater than in identify solely.
Let’s flip it round: “AI-in-the-loop”
I suggest that we invert the loop. Make no mistake—synthetic intelligence completely presents worth to community engineers doing community engineering jobs day in and time out. The truth is, I exploit it myself. However I exploit AI as a useful resource—like every other—at my disposal.
Suppose I’m known as in to troubleshoot an intermittent routing downside at our Web edge. Utilizing my well-worn community troubleshooting expertise, I collect particulars concerning the situation, carry out totally different assessments, and attempt to replicate it. I examine operational output from the routers and have a look at our community administration techniques. Perhaps I ask round, “What modified?”
And if everybody tells me, “Nothing. Nothing modified.” I then ask, “Properly, what modified earlier than nothing modified?”
As I do all of this, I leverage many instruments and assets. I’ll seek the advice of our inside documentation concerning the community. I’ll evaluation the current change requests. I would head over to Cisco.com and seek for error messages or situations. (Properly… no, I’ll most likely go to my favourite search engine and seek for error messages and situations. 🙂 )
It’s right here, throughout this a part of my work, the place I’ll deliver AI into “the loop.” Not solely is AI quick, nevertheless it has been skilled on and has immediate entry to all kinds of helpful knowledge that’s related to my work.
AI-in-the-loop: A software for community engineers
I could also be struggling to recollect the precise present command to show all the main points concerning the BGP prefixes realized by my router. Or I’ll wish to arrange a filtered packet seize and am searching for an instance configuration. Or I’m reviewing lots of of strains of debug messages and will use assist in rapidly discovering the anomalies. These are examples the place AI could make ME a greater, extra environment friendly community engineer.
You see, I’m a community engineer. I’m a reasonably first rate community engineer. I’ve typed hundreds of thousands of CLI instructions with my fingers, seen numerous pings drop, configured routing protocols, entry management lists, VPNs, coverage maps, EtherChannels, and so forth and so forth. However I’m nonetheless only a human, not a pc. I’ll not have immediate entry to the whole lot buried in my mind, however I do know when the reply is in there. I do know that if I see the proper reply (or one thing shut), I can acknowledge it and get to the answer. It’s the identical purpose an skilled community engineer can remedy a fancy downside with one internet search and a look at a discussion board put up or Cisco command reference.
We must always keep within the driver’s seat. We must always keep accountable for the networks and the community engineering. We must always embrace the capabilities of AI to enhance our community engineering work. AI shouldn’t be utilizing us to enhance its community engineering work—we needs to be utilizing AI as a useful resource to turn out to be more practical community engineers—now and into the longer term.
Actually Hank… is that every one AI needs to be?
So, you may be considering:
Oh, Hank, you good previous boomer community engineer. Get with the instances… AI presents us far more than only a next-generation search engine!
Sure, it completely does—and I’m enthusiastic about plenty of the enhancements to the techniques and software program we use daily. To not point out the fully new techniques and software program which might be enabled by AI. Simply taking a look at Cisco’s bulletins within the AI house this previous 12 months excited me about its potential for community engineers.
Simply think about what we’ll have the ability to do sooner or later. For the reason that first community engineer began capturing log knowledge, we’ve acknowledged that it’s practically unimaginable for a human engineer to make sense of the flood of knowledge in any well timed style. Consider all of the outages that might have been prevented if we had been capable of finding the small and early hints buried in counters, NetFlow knowledge, and log particulars. As for safety… wow. There’s a lot potential within the safety house to determine and reply sooner.
Embedding AI capabilities into networking merchandise will give us an enormous enhance as community engineers. However this additionally isn’t something all that new. For a few years now, machine studying capabilities have been added and iterated on to boost the community assurance options for the campus, WAN, and knowledge heart. They’re getting a brand new enhance from the GenAI hype and buzz proper now, however most of them aren’t GenAI.
One thing is coming to the community engineers’ world that pertains to GenAI that has me very, very excited. Pure Language Interface, or NLI, will quickly be a part of the a lot liked and lauded Command Line Interface (CLI) and the slightly-bummed-it-isn’t-the-new-kid-on-the-block-anymore Software Programming Interface (API) as strategies community engineers work together with the gadgets and techniques we handle. And that will probably be superior. Actually, a sport changer.
Sure, a part of turning into a community engineer is studying all the particular instructions required to make the community work. When community engineers collect collectively and share struggle tales, somebody will all the time complain (lovingly) about the way it is senseless that it’s “ip ospf authentication-key” however “ip authentication mode eigrp,” and why can’t they only be the identical?! And we’ll giggle and giggle and giggle.
However let’s be trustworthy. It isn’t memorizing particular command line syntax that makes us community engineers. It’s realizing how, why, and when we have to configure authentication for our routing protocol that’s necessary. Received’t we be a lot happier after we can merely inform our router:
“Allow authentication for EIGRP and OSPF on all interfaces. EIGRP ought to use md5 with key-chain 5, and OSPF wants to make use of plaintext due to the legacy gadget we’re linked to.”
Positive, some community engineers will grumble and say issues like “again in my day.” However I do know I’ll be happier for all of it.
So what now?
So what now, you ask? Properly, I wish to hear what you all assume. Don’t be shy. When you assume I’m overreacting, please inform me. When you share my issues, let me know I’m not alone. What excites you about the way forward for community engineering with an AI assistant in your pocket? Are there some duties you’ll be able to’t anticipate AI to take over for you? Depart a remark under to let me know your ideas!
Within the meantime, listed below are some strategies for wonderful locations to be taught extra about AI and begin constructing expertise. As a result of there’s one factor I’m completely certain of… AI is coming, and we gotta be prepared for it.
- Spend about 45 minutes Understanding AI and LLMs as a Community Engineer with this nice tutorial by Kareem Iskander.
- Make investments extra time on this wonderful Community Academy course, Introduction to Trendy AI, with my new favourite teacher, Eddy Shyu. (Don’t let the truth that it’s on Community Academy scare you away. It’s incredible for anybody seeking to get a stable basis in AI.)
- Dive in deep and “Rev Up” your recertification journey (34 Persevering with Training credit!) with AI Options on Cisco Infrastructure Necessities. Free in Cisco U. till April 26, 2025, and with content material and movies from 5xCCIE (and my hero) Ahmed Moftah.
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