Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the editor. This letter is from the May 2026 Sustainable Heat Treat Technologies print edition. In today’s letter, Bethany Leone, managing editor at Heat Treat Today, shares her insights on why building fluency in the language of emerging technologies — from AI to machine learning — is no longer optional for heat treat professionals, and how speaking like a native in your field of expertise can mean the difference between falling behind and leading the charge.
Having the right vocabulary is not a social litmus test; it’s a tool to help us master our interests and expertise.
The Power in a Word
My thinking happens through movement — tapping my pencil while mulling over an idea, physically walking through a process to get it in my bones, and immersing myself in the environment I am learning about. Normally, I would tell you I avoid rote memorization like the plague.
That has all changed. I’m currently immersing myself in an architecture guidebook to American houses to understand historical home design. At first, I went for the images to visually compare and contrast architecture features. But it became difficult to keep classifications sorted the deeper I looked to apply this knowledge. I needed to learn the language.
Advanced Tech Industry Fluency
Words don’t just help us understand our field of expertise, they stimulate the imagination. Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with a rising young expert in the industry who is looking at ways to leverage machine learning (ML) to benefit heat treat operations. We talked about the need to have the right information to explain the AI and ML intersection with heat treating. In cutting edge technologies, all industry experts — even early adopters — benefit from clear definitions.
Once we have the language of industry technologies, next comes speaking like a native. This means engaging with what AI means for preventative maintenance or temperature control tracking. Challenge the technology and look at how it is being implemented by its fans.
Speaking Like a Native
Speaking like a native is essential to adapt technology to your operations. Until you understand the power of a tool, it is tedious and ineffective to wrestle with the latent advantages (and disadvantages).
This became clear to me several months ago when navigating AI solutions for my work. At one point in wrestling with a potential tool, it became clear that something was not quite right. After months of wrestling, a colleague used precise vocabulary from the world of AI security to immediately poke holes in this tool’s effectiveness as a solution for what we were looking for. She was fluent in speaking AND thinking this language while I was still mumbling along!
Why it Matters NOW
The difficulty right now is that technology is changing at a fast clip, and it can be hard to speak the language of advanced tools. In fact, if you haven’t already been testing public AI tools, you are definitely behind in understanding integrative potential and navigating the mental load that new tech brings. Furthermore, you risk losing time to integrate your legacy employees’ knowledge into a company-lasting infrastructure.
What was “good enough” for the past ten years is rapidly becoming antiquated and unsustainable. A big example that comes to mind is the AMS2750 temperature measuring requirements of the +/-0.1°F. Such a standard was not possible to conceive before digital thermal tracking technologies, but now the expectation to play ball in rigorous parts manufacturing requires further precision.
If you are looking at the heat treat operations and seeing that your “good enough” stop-gate solution has become the norm, that’s good. Since every decision, from materials and processes to equipment and personnel, has investment risks and benefits, it is essential to understand what value your current system is preserving. From that point, you can take a step back and ask: What steps are redundant? What steps require menial expertise? How can we build buffer mentally for our workers to breathe, be safe, and have better ideas?
Write to me and tell me what advanced technology you are in the processes of learning to speak like a native. Wishing you luck from the sidelines!
Managing Editor
Heat Treat Today
Contact: Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com
