In October 2026 I posted on LinkedIn a concise classification of engineering professionals who work with AI into three behavioral types – Refusers, Overreliers, and Multipliers – each defined by their attitude toward AI adoption and the impact on their work.
Refusers are experienced engineers who distrust AI and prefer legacy methods; their mindset is “It has worked well for me for 15 years, so why would I change it?”.
Overreliers are less‑experienced engineers who rely on AI tools so heavily that they stop thinking critically, resulting in mediocre work.
Multipliers view AI as a way to multiply their efforts, not replace their expertise; they use it to eliminate repetitive work, learn faster, explore more ideas, and focus on high‑impact human‑judgment problems.