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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Biologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Biologists: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
51%
weighted task index
22 of 22 tasks scored
Median Salary
$98,920 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
55,850 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.7%
employment change
4,300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$63,290 – $121,680
Highest medians
Maryland $121,680
California $113,530
Delaware $113,400
Connecticut $111,940
Washington $108,110
Lowest medians
Missouri $63,290
Louisiana $69,590
South Dakota $73,920
Nevada $74,210
Puerto Rico $76,400
State figures come from the 19-1029 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 51%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 6%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 52%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 18%
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 11/100
Low
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
22 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) 32%
7 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 51%
12 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 17%
3 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2025 · Incumbent
Inventory and order lab supplies.
Constituent Tasks
#174 · Core · 65% automatable
Program and use computers to store, process, and analyze data.
data analysis — Trend and relationship detection in data
Analyze data to identify trends or relationships among variables. Write computer programming code. Operate computers or computerized equipment.
#18613 · Core · 67% automatable
Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
text generation — Environmental reports drafted; human verifies data
Prepare research or technical reports on environmental issues. Communicate results of environmental research.
#186 · Core · 32% automatable
Supervise biological technicians and technologists and other scientists.
interpersonal — Technical supervision requires judgment and accountability
Supervise scientific or technical personnel.
#173 · Core · 30% automatable
Develop and maintain liaisons and effective working relations with groups and individuals, agencies, and the public to encourage cooperative management strategies or to develop information and interpret findings.
interpersonal — Cross-department trust-building is relational human work
Develop collaborative relationships between departments or with external organizations.
#178 · Core · 43% automatable
Identify, classify, and study structure, behavior, ecology, physiology, nutrition, culture, and distribution of plant and animal species.
visual inspection — Classification aided by vision; specimen handling human
Classify organisms based on their characteristics or behavior. Examine characteristics or behavior of living organisms.
#187 · Core · 56% automatable
Study basic principles of plant and animal life, such as origin, relationship, development, anatomy, and function.
information retrieval — AI researches and synthesizes; human judges relevance
Examine characteristics or behavior of living organisms. Research topics in area of expertise.
#175 · Core · 27% automatable
Collect and analyze biological data about relationships among and between organisms and their environment.
data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems. Collect environmental data or samples.
#18614 · Core · 60% automatable
Review reports and proposals, such as those relating to land use classifications and recreational development, for accuracy, adequacy, or adherence to policies, regulations, or scientific standards.
decision support — Evaluates conservation plans; judgment and field context needed
Review plans or proposals for environmental conservation.
#21035 · Core · 55% automatable
Write grant proposals to obtain funding for biological research.
text generation — Draft grant text; human owns strategy and budget
Write grant proposals.
#185 · Core · 55% automatable
Teach or supervise students and perform research at universities and colleges.
text generation — Science instruction content AI-assisted; delivery human
Instruct college students in physical or life sciences.
#189 · Core · 60% automatable
Prepare requests for proposals or statements of work.
text generation — Draft proposal and grant documents for review
Prepare proposal documents or grant applications.
#177 · Core · 55% automatable
Communicate test results to state and federal representatives and general public.
information retrieval — Technical public assistance partly automatable; trust needs human
Provide technical information or assistance to public. Communicate with government agencies.
#180 · Core · 72% automatable
Represent employer in a technical capacity at conferences.
text generation — Reports drafted; presentations need human delivery
Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
#182 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Research environmental effects of present and potential uses of land and water areas, determining methods of improving environmental conditions or such outputs as crop yields.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#176 · Supplemental · 67% automatable
Study aquatic plants and animals and environmental conditions affecting them, such as radioactivity or pollution.
information retrieval — AI researches and synthesizes; human judges relevance
Identify environmental concerns. Research topics in area of expertise.
#188 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Study and manage wild animal populations.
data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
#191 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Prepare plans for management of renewable resources.
decision support — Resource plans need ecological and political judgment
Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
#184 · Supplemental · 35% automatable
Measure salinity, acidity, light, oxygen content, and other physical conditions of water to determine their relationship to aquatic life.
physical manipulation — Chemical analysis requires instruments and hands
Analyze chemical compounds or substances.
#194 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Develop pest management and control measures, and conduct risk assessments related to pest exclusion, using scientific methods.
text generation — Policy drafts aided; organizational adoption human
Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures.
#192 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Develop methods and apparatus for securing representative plant, animal, aquatic, or soil samples.
decision support — Biological methods need lab expertise and validation
Develop biological research methods.
#181 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Plan and administer biological research programs for government, research firms, medical industries, or manufacturing firms.
decision support — Research planning needs domain expertise and feasibility
Plan biological research.
#193 · Supplemental · 62% automatable
Study reactions of plants, animals, and marine species to parasites.
information retrieval — AI researches and synthesizes; human judges relevance
Research diseases or parasites. Research topics in area of expertise.
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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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