1 Before You Begin

 

The AI movement marks one of the most defining technological shifts of the 21st century. It echoes the internet boom of the 1990s and the rise of cloud computing in the 2000s. Earlier waves of artificial intelligence in the 20th century fell short due to limited compute power, rigid rule-based systems, and inflated expectations. Modern AI has advanced with scalable models, vast datasets, and real-world applications that finally deliver on decades of promise. This shift is reshaping every industry. Artists face AI-generated work challenging their creative boundaries. Educators grapple with distinguishing genuine student comprehension. Software engineers now question the need for deep syntax knowledge when models can generate boilerplate code with a single prompt. The question arises: could non-technical individuals replace entire development teams simply by mastering prompt engineering?

1.1 Why AI Matters to Data Engineering

1.2 Is This Book for You?

1.2.1 The Many Uses for AI

1.2.2 The Many Flavors of AI

1.3 How to Use This Book

1.3.1 The Main Chapters

1.3.2 Hands-on Labs

1.3.3 Chapter Setup Files

1.4 Setting Up Your Environment

1.4.1 Installing PostgreSQL and pgAdmin

1.4.2 Installing Jupyter Lab for Python Work

1.4.3 Creating an OpenAI Account

1.5 Being Immediately Effective with AI and Data Engineering