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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Motorboat Operators?
Task-level automation exposure for Motorboat Operators: 16 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
21%
weighted task index
16 of 16 tasks scored
Median Salary
$47,520 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
2,480 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.9%
employment change
300 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 14 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$26,630 – $76,250
Highest medians
Hawaii $76,250
Illinois $68,380
Washington $63,650
New York $62,000
Texas $50,270
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $26,630
California $34,570
Tennessee $42,360
New Jersey $44,150
Massachusetts $45,160
State figures come from the 53-5022 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 21%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 57%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 34%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
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 16/100
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
16 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) 6%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 6%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 87%
14 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
#14537 · Core · 8% automatable
Operate engine throttles and steering mechanisms to guide boats on desired courses.
situated mobility — Vessel operation requires real-world navigation and control
Operate ships or other watercraft.
#14538 · Core · 25% automatable
Direct safety operations in emergency situations.
interpersonal — Emergency direction is live, high-stakes human command
Direct emergency management activities.
#14540 · Core · 6% automatable
Secure boats to docks with mooring lines, and cast off lines to enable departure.
physical manipulation — Mooring lines handled by hand on deck
Secure watercraft to docks, wharves or other vessels.
#14535 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain desired courses, using compasses or electronic navigational aids.
situated mobility — Navigating water vessels is real-world situated control
Navigate water vessels.
#14545 · Core · 25% automatable
Organize and direct the activities of crew members.
situated mobility — Transport direction needs real-time operational control
Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
#14536 · Core · 32% automatable
Follow safety procedures to ensure the protection of passengers, cargo, and vessels.
decision support — AI can guide safety procedures but human executes driving
Operate ships or other watercraft. Follow safety procedures for vehicle operation.
#14541 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain equipment such as range markers, fire extinguishers, boat fenders, lines, pumps, and fittings.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14542 · Core · 55% automatable
Report any observed navigational hazards to authorities.
interpersonal — Emergency notification needs live accountable delivery
Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
#14548 · Core · 25% automatable
Oversee operation of vessels used for carrying passengers, motor vehicles, or goods across rivers, harbors, lakes, and coastal waters.
situated mobility — Transport direction needs real-time operational control
Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
#14543 · Core · 8% automatable
Service motors by performing tasks such as changing oil and lubricating parts.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14544 · Core · 65% automatable
Arrange repairs, fuel, and supplies for vessels.
data analysis — AI schedules maintenance; human coordinates execution
Arrange maintenance activities.
#14539 · Core · 24% automatable
Issue directions for loading, unloading, and seating in boats.
situated mobility — Transport direction needs real-time operational control
Direct passenger or freight transport activities. Direct material handling or moving activities.
#14547 · Core · 9% automatable
Clean boats and repair hulls and superstructures, using hand tools, paint, and brushes.
physical manipulation — Cleaning vessels requires hands-on physical labor
Clean vessels or marine equipment. Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14546 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Tow, push, or guide other boats, barges, logs, or rafts.
situated mobility — Vessel operation requires real-world navigation and control
Operate ships or other watercraft.
#14549 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Take depth soundings in turning basins.
physical manipulation — Hands-on depth/level measurement in field
Measure the level or depth of water or other liquids.
#14550 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Perform general labor duties such as repairing booms.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of machinery
Maintain work equipment or machinery.
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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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