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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Air Traffic Controllers?
Task-level automation exposure for Air Traffic Controllers: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
40%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$148,080 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
22,510 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+1.7%
employment change
2,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$47,760 – $191,820
Highest medians
Virginia $191,820
Illinois $181,560
Georgia $178,420
Colorado $177,380
Minnesota $176,840
Lowest medians
District of Columbia $47,760
Guam $82,830
Mississippi $88,110
Iowa $90,790
Wyoming $93,580
State figures come from the 53-2021 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 40%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 18%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 37%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 5%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 76/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
23 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 13%
4 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 52%
11 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 34%
8 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#12731 · Core · 55% automatable
Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
interpersonal — Emergency notification needs live accountable delivery
Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
#12730 · Core · 55% automatable
Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
information retrieval — GPS/telematics tracking is digital; exceptions need human handling
Monitor vehicle movement or location.
#24061 · Core · 30% automatable
Monitor, direct, or sequence the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
information retrieval — GPS/telematics tracking is digital; exceptions need human handling
Monitor vehicle movement or location. Direct vehicle traffic.
#12733 · Core · 55% automatable
Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
interpersonal — Emergency notification needs live accountable delivery
Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
#12738 · Core · 35% automatable
Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#12735 · Core · 25% automatable
Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
interpersonal — Flight control coordination is real-time human safety work
Coordinate flight control or management activities.
#12732 · Core · 8% automatable
Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
situated mobility — Transportation emergencies demand on-scene physical response
Respond to transportation emergencies.
#12734 · Core · 5% automatable
Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
situated mobility — Directing live traffic requires physical presence
Direct vehicle traffic.
#12739 · Core · 35% automatable
Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#12737 · Core · 40% automatable
Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.
situated mobility — Real-time route adjustment requires situated operation
Adjust routes or speeds as necessary.
#12728 · Core · 35% automatable
Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#12741 · Core · 43% automatable
Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes.
information retrieval — GPS/telematics tracking is digital; exceptions need human handling
Monitor vehicle movement or location. Monitor surroundings to detect potential hazards.
#12740 · Core · 25% automatable
Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft.
interpersonal — Emergency direction is live, high-stakes human command
Direct emergency management activities.
#20691 · Core · 30% automatable
Provide on-the-job training to new air traffic controllers.
interpersonal — Hands-on transport equipment training is physical and human
Train transportation or material moving personnel.
#12747 · Core · 45% automatable
Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace.
decision support — Flight planning aided; regulatory and safety sign-off human
Plan flight operations.
#12743 · Core · 85% automatable
Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations.
data analysis — Compiling operational data from sources is automatable
Compile operational data.
#12742 · Core · 35% automatable
Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#12745 · Core · 50% automatable
Conduct pre-flight briefings on weather conditions, suggested routes, altitudes, indications of turbulence, or other flight safety information.
interpersonal — Work-order meetings are live coordination
Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
#12744 · Core · 30% automatable
Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights.
physical manipulation — Operating comms hardware needs hands-on setup and tuning
Operate communications equipment or systems.
#12746 · Core · 70% automatable
Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes.
data analysis — Route optimization computational; human confirms
Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
#12749 · Core · 82% automatable
Complete daily activity reports and keep records of messages from aircraft.
text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info
Record operational details of travel.
#12736 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
situated mobility — Directing live traffic requires physical presence
Direct vehicle traffic.
#12748 · Supplemental · 81% automatable
Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports, as required under federal law.
text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info
Review documents or materials for compliance with policies or regulations. Record operational details of travel.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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