Episode 287 - Aaron Michalenko & Willis Long

Episode 287 asks the question every surveyor should be thinking about: Will artificial intelligence replace the land surveyor—or reinvent the profession? The guys are joined by Aaron Michalenko, owner of DBE Surveying, and Willis Long, Head of Survey Operations and Senior Director, for a no-BS conversation about where AI is already creating value and where the hype gets ahead of reality. They explore point-cloud processing, feature extraction, drafting, boundary research, QA/QC, workforce development, data security, and the skills tomorrow’s geospatial professionals will need to remain relevant. The conversation gets especially real when AI meets boundary surveying. An algorithm may calculate where a corner could be, but can it determine where that corner legally is? Can it evaluate monuments, occupation, historical evidence, and intent and then accept responsibility when the answer is wrong? The crew also tackles whether AI will eliminate traditional field crews, replace manual drafting, solve the workforce shortage, or make professional licensure even more important. The takeaway is clear: the tools will change, the workflows will evolve, and the volume of data will explode, but the surveyor’s responsibility to verify the evidence, exercise professional judgment, and protect the public remains firmly intact. Buckle up for another round of “Bullsh*t, Breakthrough, or Too Soon to Tell,” a Leica Geosystems Pro Tip, and Rise Against’s “Savior” as the Song of the Week. The future does not belong to surveyors who blindly reject AI—or blindly trust it. It belongs to the professionals who understand it, question it, verify it, and know when the human surveyor must remain in control.