In a rapidly evolving engineering landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, it’s easy to assume that smarter tools mean smarter outcomes. But in this transcript from a recent episode of Mind Over Machine, DW managing editor Mike Santora and Simscale’s Jon Wilde challenge that assumption with a candid discussion about the real-world limits of AI. Drawing on a career that spans both pre- and post-digital eras, Wilde offers a practical look at how AI fits into modern workflows — and where it still struggles to deliver meaningful impact.
Rather than dismissing AI, Wilde makes it clear that he relies on it heavily, from refining presentations to supporting engineering decisions. However, he points to a consistent shortcoming: AI’s inability to communicate ideas in a way that truly resonates with people. Whether addressing a boardroom or explaining a complex concept, effective communication requires tone, context, and emotional intelligence — qualities that remain distinctly human. The takeaway is clear: AI can enhance productivity and sharpen insights, but it’s human perspective that ultimately brings ideas to life and drives real connection. Read the transcript, edited for length and clarity, below.
Mike Santora: Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Mind Over machine, the show where we have smart people giving us smart advice that you won’t necessarily get from Ai. I’m Mike Santora, managing editor for design world, and this segment starts now. Today I’m with Jon Wilde, VP of Product Management at Simscale, Jon, thank you for being with us.
Jon Wilde: Nice to be here. Thanks.
Mike Santora: So John, this is obviously, like I’d mentioned earlier, a little shorter format than the interview he had done earlier for this one. We just want to know, can you give us some best practices, or maybe one example from your career where you had to come up with an outside of the box solution that was not necessarily something that you could have easily gotten from Ai.
Jon Wilde, VP Product Management at Simscale
Jon Wilde: Yeah, I think it’s a difficult question, because I’m old enough that even the internet didn’t exist when I was small, right? So, I’ve done a lot of work in my life without AI. I would maybe look at it a tiny bit the other way, because I think we use AI nearly in nearly everything in that I do. I guess I use AI often. I think the time I find it not so applicable is when I need to explain, like, a creative kind of problem, or a complex problem in an interesting way. That’s where I think AI kind of falls over. It gives me, it’ll give me the answer, and it will help me to convey the information, but you can see people glaze over, right?
If you read the AI message and you need to make it — you need to add some kind of human emotion to it and some personality — I think it’s that. I mean, especially being a leader. I do a lot of this kind of communication stuff, right, right? I think that’s where AI falls down, but I still use it all the time. I mean, like making decks for the board. Every time I have one, I’ll always ask AI what it thinks when it knows the context of who I need to talk to, it’ll give me tons of pointers, like you said, a number, but you haven’t given any evidence, and it’ll give me tons of small things that help mitigate questions later, so I still use it in almost everything from like presentations through to engineering and design. But yeah, I think you still need to add that human touch, right? That’s still what is missing for me.
Mike Santora: Yeah, no, that’s a fantastic answer, because I think even this conversation right now, the reason it’s worked well is because, you know, these are more or less questions that you could, you could pop in there and see what are examples people have given on the internet, but having you actually explain it…
I grew up at a time where we were able to remember what it was like before the internet. I was born in ’82. I think I’m the last one of the last generation of, you know, people that are, non-digitally native. It’s very interesting. But, yes, being able to have access to you to answer that question is very nice, and I think it’s a really good answer. Everybody, Jon Wilde of Simscale. Jon, thank you again.
We appreciate your time and insights today. And of course, thank you to all of you for tuning into this video. That is a wrap for this edition of Mind over Machine. For more episodes and other content like it. You can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter, Engineers Edge at design world online.com/sign up for design world email newsletter. A little bit on the nose there. Anyways, thank you, and we’ll see you again soon.