AI is lowering the barrier to entry for technical careers, and the skills that matter most are not always the ones people expect.

Dr. Keith Morneau, Dean of Computer and Information Science at ECPI University, joined host Spurti Preetham Gurram on The Bottom Line to discuss how AI is reshaping tech education, hiring, and cybersecurity work. The Bottom Line is a podcast produced by Scalefusion featuring long-form interviews with founders, leaders, and technology professionals about their careers and the industry.

Listen to the full conversation to learn more about the evolution of cybersecurity education, the rise of autonomous AI agents, and the judgment skills that separate strong professionals from the rest.

What does AI mean for entry-level tech workers?

AI can level the field for people starting technical careers, but only for those who learn to use it well. Morneau argues that the technology raises expectations for everyone while opening up what a motivated person can actually build.

"It's going to raise the bar, but there's no ceiling," he says. "So the ceiling is infinity."

The foundations underneath all of this have not changed. The core concepts behind computing and cybersecurity are the same ones Morneau taught decades ago, while the layer on top, which includes the platforms and vocabulary, keeps shifting. Students still have to learn how systems work at a deep level before the newer terminology means anything.

The genuinely new skill is orchestration. Getting useful results from AI takes both technical knowledge and the ability to ask precise questions, because a vague prompt returns a generic answer. A technology professional needs enough expertise to judge whether an output is actually correct. Human judgment, in other words, is not leaving the field anytime soon.

How does ECPI University prepare students to work with AI?

ECPI University integrates AI into coursework so students learn to use it the way employers now expect, working with it responsibly rather than avoiding it. The focus is on applied skill: writing effective prompts, checking what an AI system returns, and knowing where and how human intervention comes into play.

That shows up directly in how students learn. One example is a conversational assignment format, where students work through course material with an AI tutor and get feedback in real time, which the University reports has raised student engagement.

The same thinking carries into hands-on cybersecurity education. Some courses include an adaptive, AI-driven model for security operations training that places students in realistic environments with live alerts and incident tickets, adjusting difficulty as they demonstrate mastery. 

AI may offer guidance along the way, but students ultimately stay responsible for the analysis and decisions. Building that judgment is what technology professionals need most in the era of AI.