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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Industrial Ecologists?
Task-level automation exposure for Industrial Ecologists: 38 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
58%
weighted task index
38 of 38 tasks scored
Median Salary
$82,220 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
89,250 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+6.1%
employment change
7,300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$53,030 – $132,620
Highest medians
District of Columbia $132,620
California $106,510
Rhode Island $100,730
Massachusetts $100,640
Washington $98,300
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $53,030
Virgin Islands $53,830
Arkansas $57,220
Mississippi $57,780
Florida $60,830
State figures come from the 19-2041 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 58%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 47%
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 5/100
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
38 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) 34%
12 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 66%
26 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 0%
0 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 08/2021 · Occupational Expert
Conduct life cycle assessments of products.
Constituent Tasks
#19972 · Core · 58% automatable
Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16888 · Core · 60% automatable
Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
text generation — AI proposes sustainable practices from knowledge base
Identify sustainable business practices. Develop sustainable industrial or development methods.
#19965 · Core · 58% automatable
Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#19968 · Core · 62% automatable
Conduct environmental sustainability assessments, using material flow analysis (MFA) or substance flow analysis (SFA) techniques.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
#19974 · Core · 70% automatable
Identify sustainable alternatives to industrial or waste-management practices.
text generation — AI proposes sustainable practices from knowledge base
Identify sustainable business practices.
#19982 · Core · 82% automatable
Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy.
information retrieval — AI can search and summarize literature, human curates
Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
#19980 · Core · 50% automatable
Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
text generation — Industrial methods need domain validation and testing
Develop sustainable industrial or development methods.
#19978 · 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.
#19970 · Core · 54% automatable
Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
data analysis — Consumption data monitoring is largely digital and analyzable
Research energy production, use, or conservation. Monitor industrial energy consumption or management.
#16886 · Core · 35% automatable
Monitor the environmental impact of development activities, pollution, or land degradation.
physical manipulation — Monitoring requires sensors, sampling, field presence
Monitor environmental impacts of production or development activities.
#16894 · Core · 65% automatable
Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
text generation — Technical DB design drafted; domain validation human
Develop technical or scientific databases.
#19975 · Core · 58% automatable
Perform analyses to determine how human behavior can affect, and be affected by, changes in the environment.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#19963 · Core · 65% automatable
Recommend methods to protect the environment or minimize environmental damage from industrial production practices.
information retrieval — Environmental advice is knowledge-based with review
Advise others about environmental management or conservation.
#19983 · Core · 50% automatable
Translate the theories of industrial ecology into eco-industrial practices.
decision support — Synthesizes research; field application and validation human
Apply knowledge or research findings to address environmental problems.
#19964 · Core · 50% automatable
Develop alternative energy investment scenarios to compare economic and environmental costs and benefits.
decision support — Sustainability plans drafted; organizational buy-in human
Develop environmental sustainability plans or projects.
#16893 · Core · 62% automatable
Carry out environmental assessments in accordance with applicable standards, regulations, or laws.
information retrieval — Literature synthesis strong; field measurement human
Research impacts of environmental conservation initiatives.
#19971 · Core · 45% automatable
Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
data analysis — Analysis aided; study design and fieldwork human
Conduct research on social issues.
#16885 · Core · 52% automatable
Plan or conduct field research on topics such as industrial production, industrial ecology, population ecology, and environmental production or sustainability.
decision support — Environmental research planning aided; field judgment human
Plan environmental research.
#16891 · Core · 50% automatable
Create complex and dynamic mathematical models of population, community, or ecological systems.
data analysis — Models drafted; empirical calibration human
Develop mathematical models of environmental conditions.
#19969 · Core · 58% automatable
Evaluate the effectiveness of industrial ecology programs, using statistical analysis and applications.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16895 · Core · 50% automatable
Forecast future status or condition of ecosystems, based on changing industrial practices or environmental conditions.
data analysis — Models drafted; empirical calibration human
Develop mathematical models of environmental conditions.
#16881 · Core · 56% automatable
Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research industrial processes or operations. Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#19966 · Core · 50% automatable
Apply new or existing research about natural ecosystems to understand economic and industrial systems in the context of the environment.
decision support — Synthesizes research; field application and validation human
Apply knowledge or research findings to address environmental problems.
#19977 · Core · 45% automatable
Prepare plans to manage renewable resources.
decision support — Resource plans need ecological and political judgment
Develop plans to manage natural or renewable resources.
#19973 · Core · 58% automatable
Identify or compare the component parts or relationships between the parts of industrial, social, and natural systems.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16884 · Core · 57% automatable
Plan or conduct studies of the ecological implications of historic or projected changes in industrial processes or development.
data analysis — Regulatory impact appraisal; human owns policy call
Appraise environmental impact of regulations or policies. Plan environmental research.
#16882 · Core · 58% automatable
Research sources of pollution to determine environmental impact or to develop methods of pollution abatement or control.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#19976 · Core · 72% automatable
Perform environmentally extended input-output (EE I-O) analyses.
data analysis — Statistical analysis of environmental datasets is automatable
Analyze environmental data.
#19979 · Core · 58% automatable
Promote use of environmental management systems (EMS) to reduce waste or to improve environmentally sound use of natural resources.
text generation — Campaign content drafted; human leads advocacy
Promote environmental sustainability or conservation initiatives.
#16889 · Core · 62% automatable
Investigate the impact of changed land management or land use practices on ecosystems.
data analysis — Regulatory impact appraisal; human owns policy call
Appraise environmental impact of regulations or policies.
#16890 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Develop or test protocols to monitor ecosystem components and ecological processes.
decision support — Sustainability plans drafted; organizational buy-in human
Develop environmental sustainability plans or projects.
#19981 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Research environmental effects of land and water use to determine methods of improving environmental conditions or increasing outputs, such as crop yields.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16883 · Supplemental · 70% automatable
Provide industrial managers with technical materials on environmental issues, regulatory guidelines, or compliance actions.
text generation — Draft legal/regulatory docs; human verifies
Prepare information or documentation related to legal or regulatory matters.
#16896 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Conduct applied research on the effects of industrial processes on the protection, restoration, inventory, monitoring, or reintroduction of species to the natural environment.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#16892 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Conduct scientific protection, mitigation, or restoration projects to prevent resource damage, maintain the integrity of critical habitats, and minimize the impact of human activities.
decision support — Conservation plans need field data and stakeholder judgment
Plan natural resources conservation or restoration programs.
#16879 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Investigate accidents affecting the environment to assess ecological impact.
data analysis — Analysis aided; primary environmental data collection human
Research environmental impact of industrial or development activities.
#19967 · Supplemental · 74% automatable
Conduct analyses to determine the maximum amount of work that can be accomplished for a given amount of energy in a system, such as industrial production systems and waste treatment systems.
data analysis — Energy production data evaluation is quantitative
Analyze project data to determine specifications or requirements. Evaluate energy production data.
#16880 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Investigate the adaptability of various animal and plant species to changed environmental conditions.
data analysis — Ecosystem research aided; sampling requires humans
Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
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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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