Descriptions:
NetworkChuck Academy hosts a live AMA session featuring Jason Ghoulie, the newly appointed author of Cisco’s official CCNA certification books — taking over from Wendell Odom after 32 years and ten editions — to explore how AI is reshaping network engineering as a profession.
The conversation covers practical AI tool usage in networking contexts: using AI to generate dashboards, assist with Rust and advanced Python, and automate repetitive configuration tasks. The panel draws a clear distinction between trusting AI where you can verify its output versus domains (like medicine) where you lack the expertise to catch errors. A recurring theme is that effective AI use requires enough domain knowledge to “be dangerous” — knowing when to redirect the model and when its output is subtly wrong.
For networking professionals and students watching, the discussion touches directly on whether CCNA-level skills retain value in an AI-assisted world, with the consensus that foundational knowledge becomes more important as a basis for directing and validating AI, not less. Ghoulie’s appointment signals that Cisco’s canonical learning track is being updated for an AI-native era, making this AMA particularly relevant for anyone planning a network engineering career path.
📺 Source: NetworkChuck · Published July 23, 2026
🏷️ Format: Livestream
